RockaBye
by MyImmortal329
Summary: Sequel to "A Season of Miracles." Michaela and Sully prepare for the birth of their first child. Myra decides once and for all who she wants to spend the rest of her life with. The Cooper children adjust to Dr. Mike's constant mood swings, and prepare
1. Miserable Mornings

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, The Sullivan Company and to A&E. This is the sequel to "A Season of Miracles."

**Rock-a-Bye**

**Chapter 1: Miserable Mornings**

Sully felt a thump as Michaela jumped out of bed. Her bare feet pounded on the hardwood floor as she threw the bedroom door open and rushed down the hall. Sully sat up, rubbing his tired eyes, and got out of bed. He cautiously walked down the hall as he heard his wife's sounds of misery. He knocked on the door to the washroom.

"Michaela?" She responded with an exhausted groan. "You alright?"

"Fine," she replied. He could hear her rinsing her mouth out. She came out, wiping the corners of her mouth with a hand towel. Her face was pale and her eyes had dark circles under them. Michaela not only got morning sickness, but she got afternoon and midnight sickness as well.

"Why don't you get back in bed and I'll make you some tea."

"But we have to get ready for church," Michaela replied.

"There's a bad storm outside. Nobody's gonna be goin' anywhere today," Sully replied. It was the beginning of March, and the temperatures had warmed up, but Michaela couldn't enjoy them. She felt sick more than half of the time she was awake during the day.

"I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"You're stuck with a disgusting pregnant woman all day!" Michaela sobbed as her tears began to flow. She ran down the hallway and to the bedroom, slamming the door behind her. Ah, the mood swings had begun. Sully sighed heavily and walked toward the bedroom. Matthew came out of his bedroom.

"What's goin' on?"

"Your ma's just havin' a rough mornin'," Sully replied. Matthew nodded and disappeared back inside of his room. Sully tapped on the door and slowly opened it. Michaela had buried herself under the covers.

"Michaela?"

"Go away!" she exclaimed.

"Michaela, you're not disgustin'. Michaela sat up and threw the covers off of her.

"Yes I am! I can't stop vomiting and I'm getting fat."

"Honey, you're barely showin' yet, and the reason why you're sick is 'cause you're pregnant. You ain't disgustin'." Michaela sniffled.

"I'm a horrible mother," she whispered.

"What? That's not true. You're a good ma."

"Then why am I complaining? I should be happy that I'm pregnant! I am happy, but I feel disgusting."

"But you look beautiful." Michaela sniffled as her mood swing passed. She climbed out of bed and wrapped her arms around Sully's neck.

"I love you."

"I love you too," Sully replied, kissing her forehead. "You get back into bed and I'll go make you some tea."

"Okay," Michaela whispered.

"Okay." Michaela climbed into bed and pulled the covers up around her. Sully wasn't sure if he was going to survive the next six months. He had to laugh to himself. Michaela was so adorable after her mood swings would pass. Her eyes that had been puffy from crying would light up and she would be sweet again. The children would get confused by their mother's mood swings, but Sully would calmly explain to them what was going on.

Sully made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. He began brewing the herbs that usually helped with the nausea a little bit. Lately, Michaela had been craving pickles with Grace's best strawberry jam to dip it in. The thought of those two foods put together made Sully cringe, but Michaela liked it.

Lightening flashed outside, and Sully went around the living room lighting the lamps since there was no sunlight coming through the clouds. Brian came running down the stairs.

"Shh!" Sully scolded.

"Sorry," Brian whispered. "Why do I gotta be quiet?"

"Your ma's restin' upstairs."

"Oh. What are ya makin'?"

"I'm makin' tea to help settle her stomach." Brian noticed the jam and pickles and made a face.

"She's still eatin' that?"

"Yeah," Sully said with a chuckle. "Pregnant ladies sometimes eat things they normally wouldn't."

"I'm glad I ain't a girl then." Sully had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. But the boy had a point. Men never had to go through the physical pain of childbirth or the discomfort of pregnancy.

Once the tea was done, Sully poured it into a cup and placed it on a tray. He poured some strawberry jam into a bowl and placed a large pickle in it. He cringed again and wondered if her cravings were actually making her sick. He headed up the stairs and went back into the room.

"Here you go." He put the tray on her lap and she smiled at him gratefully.

"Thank you, Sully." She saw the treat that he had prepared for her and her eyes because watery again. "Oh! You remembered! That's so sweet!"

"Yeah," Sully replied with a laugh. She had only asked for that the past eight days in a row, so he figured that it wouldn't be any different this time. Apparently he was right, and he was proud that he was slowly starting to understand his pregnant wife. Unfortunately pregnant women didn't come with instructions, and men were on their own when it came to keeping them happy.

Michaela gave Sully a big kiss on the cheek, and he brushed the tears from her eyes. He didn't mind helping Michaela out, because he loved it when she would ask him for things. She was still being independent when it came to many things, but when it came to the simple tasks, he was happy that she would let him do something for her. He loved being involved, and he loved spending the nights holding Michaela in his arms, stroking her belly, and talking to his unborn son or daughter.

Those who had been able to come to church services during the storm had long gone home, and everyone was sitting around, waiting for the storm to pass. Myra was sitting on the porch of the clinic, staring over at the telegraph office. Horace had been too embarrassed to even talk to her since she decided they should stop courting. She had been spending more and more time with Hank, and she enjoyed being with him. She still felt for Horace because he was taking it harder than she expected.

"Mind if I join ya?" Hank asked as he walked up onto the porch.

"No. Have a seat," Myra replied, scooting over for Hank.

"You gotta stop blamin' yourself."  
"It's my fault he's so upset," Myra insisted. "He ain't been the same since I broke it off with him."

"You ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout, Myra. Horace will get over it. You want me to go talk to him?"

"No. I know you, Hank. I know you well enough to know that you are just gonna make it worse for him." Hank wanted to protest, but he knew Myra was right. He wasn't Horace's biggest fan, and it was likewise for Horace. Hank wasn't anybody's favorite person. Most people weren't exactly Hank's favorites either.

"I got a poker game in a couple minutes, but I can cancel it if ya wanna talk."

"Hank, go play your game. I'm gonna go talk with Dorothy and Grace anyway." Hank nodded and got up from his seat. He reluctantly turned toward the saloon and disappeared inside.

Horace had left the telegraph office and was now seated at the bar in the saloon. Hank stared at him for a minute, and decided that he had better say something to him. He looked over to see that the other fellas for the poker game hadn't shown up yet.

"What can I get for ya, Horace? A sarsaparilla?"

"Whiskey," Horace replied. Hank chuckled.

"You ain't the drinkin' kinda man."

"I said, whiskey! You ain't the kinda man to turn down business, are ya?" He slapped a five-dollar bill down on the counter. "And keep 'em comin'."

"If this is about Myra . . ."

"Don't speak her name!" Horace snapped. "I ain't givin' ya money to talk. I'm givin' ya money to serve whiskey!"

"You're the customer," Hank said, shrugging his shoulders. He lined up a few shots of whiskey, which Horace finished in record time.

"Keep 'em comin'." Hank shook his head, knowing he could refuse to serve Horace. But, he also knew from experience that some men had to work their problems out on their own. Maybe a good hangover would do Horace some good.

Michaela had managed to clean herself up, get dressed, and come downstairs without feeling queasy again. But, Sully had warned Colleen not to cook anything or spray any kind of perfume. He also warned the children not to light any candles, because the up-to-date list of things that bothered Michaela and made her sick included most aromas from foods, soaps, perfumes, and candle wax, even though wax wasn't scented.

Over the past couple of weeks, the town council had been discussing building a school for the children of the town. Michaela was the one who had started the debate, and luckily it was a unanimous decision that the school would be built. The only problem was getting someone to build it. Nobody had bothered to ask Robert E., considering Negro children wouldn't be allowed into the school's doors, and people figured that Sully wouldn't help because Indian children wouldn't be welcome either.

"When I go to school, will I have to do homework?" Brian asked.

"Yes, Brian," Michaela said with a chuckle. "All students who go to school will have to do homework."

"Will I have to go?" Matthew asked.

"Well, you're fifteen," Michaela started. "You'd be going to college in a few years."

"I ain't sure I wanna go to college," Matthew started. "I wanna get married and start a farm." Michaela and Sully exchanged glances.

"We'll talk about that some other time," Sully pointed out, not wanting Michaela to get upset. Matthew nodded.

"But I s'pose goin' to school wouldn't be too bad."

"Well, since you're getting older," Michaela began, "you can either go to school with Colleen and Brian, or you can continue doing odd jobs to make money." Matthew nodded in appreciation. Charlotte had taught him a lot when he was growing up, and he figured that he didn't need much more schooling. But Colleen and Brian were younger and hadn't learned as much from their mother before she passed on.

"I can't wait to start school," Colleen said as a light began to shine in her eyes. "I can't wait to read new books and learn new things. I'll still be able to help you out at the clinic, won't I?"

"Of course," Michaela replied with a nod. "But not until your homework's finished."

"And I can still help take care of the baby?" Colleen asked. Michaela laughed and nodded her head.

"Certainly." Sully and Michaela loved how excited the children were about getting a new sibling. They realized that having this new life to look forward to was helping to ease the pain of losing Charlotte. It wouldn't take the pain away altogether, but a new life meant hope for the future.

"Ma?" Brian asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think it's gonna be a boy or a girl?"

"I'm not sure," Michaela replied. "There a fifty percent chance it could be either, and I'd be happy either way."  
"What about you, Sully?" Sully shrugged.

"I'm with your ma on this one. I ain't sure if it'll be a boy or a girl, but I'll be happy with whatever it turns out to be."

"Come on, you guys gotta want one or the other." Michaela looked at Sully and they both smiled.

"It really doesn't matter."

"It should be a girl," Colleen said.

"No. It's gotta be a boy," Brian replied.

"But there's already you, Matthew, and Sully. Me and Dr. Mike are gonna be overcrowded with boys if this ain't a girl."

"But a boy can climb trees and stuff."

"A girl can too," Colleen replied with an offended smirk. Brian stuck his tongue out at Colleen and she reciprocated.

"Children!" Michaela exclaimed with exasperation.

"Sorry ma," Brian replied. "I sure wish it'd stop rainin'. I wanna go play outside." Michaela yawned and realized that she had been feeling much better for the past couple of hours. She hoped that things wouldn't change anytime soon. She was enjoying spending time with her family without having to run into the other room every few minutes due to morning sickness.

"I wish the rain would stop so I could get into town to see Ingrid."

"How is Ingrid doing?" Michaela asked.

"She's doin' alright. Her pa's getting real sick though, and she's helpin' her older brother take care of her younger sisters. I wish I could be there for her more."

"Ingrid's lucky to have ya," Sully spoke up.

"Are you and Ingrid gonna get married?" Brian asked.

"Someday, yeah," Matthew replied. He didn't want to say anything about getting married soon to Michaela right now. He knew that with her mood swings, she was liable to go berserk. For now, he was keeping quiet.

Michaela yawned again, and he realized that Michaela was still not getting a lot of sleep. Brian was still having nightmares at night, but Sully would get up to comfort him, even though his cries would wake Michaela. But she was mostly up during the night with her nausea, so it was only natural that she would be exhausted.

"You better go lay down and take a nap," Sully suggested.

"I'm fine," Michaela promised.

"Go on, ma," Colleen urged. "We're stuck here until the storm passes anyway. You need your rest." Michaela realized that between her husband and her children, she wouldn't be able to get a word in edgewise. She nodded and stood. Sully walked upstairs with her and closed the bedroom door behind them. Michaela climbed under the covers and Sully put a few logs into the fireplace and lit a match.

"You rest now," he whispered, walking over to kiss her lips. "You and the baby both need the sleep." Michaela smiled and grabbed Sully's hand. She pressed it against her barely-showing belly.

"Can you believe that there is a life inside of here?" Michaela asked with wonder in her eyes. "This life is going to grow inside of me, and that's all because we created it out of love. It's an amazing thing how two people can create a life and that life can grow and be loved before it's even born."

"This baby's got a lot of love already." He leaned down and kissed her belly. "We all want it, so it's going to be here before we know it. I'm so proud of you. It's one thing to make a baby, but it's another to carry it for nine months. You're so amazing, Michaela." Tears developed in Michaela's eyes and Sully kissed her cheek before he brushed them away. "This life inside of you is a part of both of us, so that's somethin' special."

"As long as this baby is healthy, that's what counts, right?" Michaela asked. Sully kissed her hand.

"That's right. This baby's got a good life ahead. It's ma's a doctor, and it's pa is gonna give it everything it needs and wants."

"If she's a girl she'll be her daddy's little girl, and if he's a boy, he'll definitely be daddy's boy."

"You got that right," Sully replied.

"You're already taking the baby away from me with promises of spoiling it, and it's not even born yet," Michaela joked. Sully chuckled.

"I'd never take a child away from its ma, especially you. You're the best possible ma for this child, and I can't wait to see you hold it and nurse it. It'll be the most beautiful thing in the world."

"I can't wait," Michaela said with an excited smile. "But I know I have to wait, because the longer this baby stays inside of me, the better."

"You won't be sayin' that when the due date passes."

"You think the baby will be late?"

"Most first time ma's have their babies late, so I heard anyway." Michaela shrugged.

"Well, I guess we'll cross that bridge when the time comes. I just want to thank you for being here for me."

"I'll always be here for you," Sully promised. Michaela sighed with contentment and snuggled down under the covers. "You rest now." Michaela nodded and closed her eyes. Sully sat with her, holding her hand with his free hand while his other rested protectively on her belly. He waited until she drifted off to sleep before he quietly left the room and went downstairs to join the children.


	2. A Helping Hand

Chapter 2: A Helping Hand 

The storm had subsided, and the town was functioning normally again. The only problem was that Horace had closed down the telegraph office, and a line was stretching from its doors to the clinic. Myra hadn't seen Hank since he went back to the saloon during the storm. Maybe he had seen Horace.

She walked over to the swinging doors of the saloon and peered inside. She didn't see Hank, but she heard his voice from behind.

"What's goin' on?" Myra turned to see Hank walking up to the porch.

"Have you seen Horace?"

"Yeah. He came in earlier and had some drinks."

"What? Horace doesn't drink! Why did you serve him?"

"He was a payin' customer, and I figured that if a man wants to drink away his problems, who am I to stop him?"

"Hank!" Myra exclaimed. "You know the only reason he was drinkin' was 'cause of me!"

"He wanted somethin' to drink, so I let him have it."  
"I can't believe you!" Myra yelled. She stormed off and Hank ran after her on impulse.

"Myra wait!"

"Hank, now's not the time! I've gotta find Horace!"

"What? So you can go back to him?" Myra swallowed hard and shook her head.

"No. I want to find him because I still consider him to be my friend. I want to help him."

"Myra, the best thing to do is to let him sleep it off."

"I ain't so sure about that. How much did he drink?"

"Five dollars worth," Hank replied casually.

"That's an awful lot for someone who doesn't drink! Hank, what if he's passed out? Somebody ought to help him!" Myra started off for the back of the telegraph office. Hank sighed and followed after her. The young woman peered into the window of the back of the office where Horace slept. Sure enough, she saw him passed out on the floor. "Hank! We gotta get in there!"

"Hang on," Hank replied. He ran to the front of the office and kicked the door in. Myra ran around the front and waited for Hank. The bartender finally made his way out with Horace in his arms. Several of the townsfolk gasped at the sight of him. Horace's skin was pale and nearly gray. His skin looked clammy, and he appeared to be taking in short, shallow breaths.

"Get him to the clinic," Myra ordered with tears in her eyes. Hank nodded. He swallowed hard, feeling guilty for one of the first times in his life. He always brushed things like this off, but when he saw the pain in Myra's eyes, he knew that he shouldn't have let Horace drink at all.

Myra opened the door to the clinic, and Hank put Horace down on the table. He rolled him on his side, something he'd had to do for several fellas before.

"What are ya doin'?"

"In case he gets sick, he won't drown in it," Hank replied. Myra shuddered at the though.

"I'll go get Dr. Mike," Myra offered.

"Somebody's gotta stay with him," Hank replied. Myra nodded slowly. "I didn't mean for this to happen."  
"I shouldn't be blamin' you. It ain't your fault he did this."

"It ain't yours either, Myra," Hank pointed out. "He was just handlin' everything in the wrong way." Horace began to tremble and Myra gasped.

"You better hurry." Hank nodded and rushed to get his horse and head out to get Dr. Mike.

Michaela had taken a nap for about an hour, and she was a little less tired than before. When she came downstairs, lunch was on the table. The children and Sully was just sitting down.

"I wasn't sure if you'd be hungry."  
"I'm famished," Michaela replied with a yawn. She sat down and sucked in a deep breath. One whiff of the stew got to her, and she put her hand over her mouth and rushed for closest place to dispose of what was about to come out of her stomach.

"Is she gonna be like this till the baby's born?" Brian asked with a groan.

"Some women ladies are sick the whole time," Colleen pointed out, "but others aren't sick after the first couple months." Nobody was quite ready for Brian's next question.

"If she keeps getting sick, the baby won't come out too, will it?" Sully bit the inside of his cheek so hard that blood nearly came out. Matthew and Colleen had to stifle their laughs.

"Brian . . ."

"But the baby's in her stomach. Every time she eats, she gets sick. The baby could come out!"

"Brian, it don't exactly work that way," Sully replied.

"How does it work?"

"I'll explain it to ya when you're a little older."

"Alright," Brian replied with a shrug. Michaela finally re-joined her family.

"Sorry," she mumbled. She poured herself a glass of water and drank it down quickly. Sully took her hand and squeezed it gently.

"You ain't got nothin' to apologize for. You're carryin' our baby, so you bein' sick right now is a good thing." Michaela glared at him.

"You think that my vomiting all day is a good thing? Well, think again, because I can guarantee that you would think differently if you were in my shoes." Sully swallowed hard and tried to think of a way to get himself out of hot water. Michaela was having another mood swing, and since that was happening, he had to think fast.

"I'm sorry you ain't feelin' well. This is all gonna be for a good cause in the end." He could see that Michaela was starting to calm down. The children, on the other hand, were quite worried about what their ma might do next. "You are so beautiful." Michaela's eyes softened and she began to cry.

"Thank you! That's the sweetest thing . . ." She began to sob and Sully looked at the kids. They all shrugged and he offered her a handkerchief to wipe the tears away. She sniffled and looked at the children. "Sorry."

"It's alright, ma," Brian replied. "You're just cryin' 'cause you're havin' a baby." Michaela smiled at her youngest and took a deep breath. She was going to speak again, but the sound of a horse approaching quickly made Matthew jump out of his chair and rush to the window.

"Who is it?"

"It's Hank," he replied slowly. "Looks like an emergency." Michaela stood and grabbed her medical bag. She and Sully rushed out onto the porch with the children following behind.

"Dr. Mike! Ya gotta get into town quick!"

"What's happened?"

"Horace! He drank too much and he passed out. He ain't lookin' real good."

"Sully? Will you hitch up the wagon?" Sully nodded and hurried off to the barn. Matthew went with him to help. A few minutes later, the entire family was following Hank back into town to tend to Horace.

"Can you save him, Dr. Mike?" Myra asked as Michaela examined Horace. Michaela frowned and sucked in a deep breath.

"The best I can do for him is give him charcoal to swallow. That'll help him vomit some of the alcohol out of his system. He has a severe case of alcohol poisoning, and after giving him something to induce vomiting, the most we can do is wait." Myra nodded. She stepped outside where everyone was waiting.

"Dr. Mike's gotta give him charcoal to make him get the alcohol outta his system."

"Charcoal?" Jake asked incredulously.

"She says it's supposed to make him throw up."

"I've seen it before," Sully said quietly. "At the minin' camp I used to work out, some of the fellas would drink all weekend and a few of 'em nearly died." Loren's face grew white.

"He ain't gonna die, is he?" Hank saw the look in Myra's eyes as the men spoke about it, and he knew she needed someone to comfort her.

"Myra, let's go for a walk," Hank suggested.

"I ain't leavin'."

"Come on. It ain't gonna do nobody any good with you frettin'." He held out a hand and she finally took it. They walked off and the rest of the townsfolk watched them.

"Are they courtin' now?" Dorothy asked Grace. Grace shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's a long story."

As they walked, Myra sniffled, thinking about how Horace could possibly be dying.

"Maybe we should go back. I blame myself enough already. If I wasn't there when he . . . What if I had talked to him more about it? Maybe he wouldn't have gone drinkin'."

"Don't think like that," Hank whispered, turning to face her. He put his hand on her cheek. "Ya can't wonder 'bout the 'what if's.'"

"I just feel so bad, Hank. He's heart broken."

"Any man would be heartbroken if he lost you." Myra looked up into Hank's eyes and she knew he was sincere. She smiled at him and she knew he wasn't familiar with saying such kind words to people. But something about her brought it out in him.

"You really mean that, don't you?"

"'Course I do." Myra decided it was time to find out if Hank really wanted to be with her, or if he was just stringing her along. She didn't want to pursue a relationship that was going to get her nowhere.

"How do I know you're tellin' me the truth?"

"What?"

"If we decide to court, I want you to know that I ain't like one of your girls. You'll have to wait for me. I ain't gonna give into you, and if you think I will, we ain't got a chance."

"Myra, calm down!"

"Calm down? Hank, you run a saloon and hire prostitutes for a livin'! How am I supposed to know that this ain't some way of convincin' me to work for ya?"

"You want me to prove that I ain't the scum you think I am?" Hank asked after a moment.

"How could ya do that?" Myra asked, looking away. Before she knew it, Hank was pulling her into her arms and kissing her passionately. She felt her heart begin to pound, and when she felt his gentle lips on hers, she knew without a doubt that he did care. Myra pulled away and looked up into Hank's eyes.

"You . . . you . . ."

"Before ya say another word, Myra, I want ya to know that it ain't easy for me to have a heart. But you brought that out in me. Somehow you make me smile and I never smile for no reason. I never said this to anyone except for Zach's ma."

"Said what?" Hank swallowed hard and balled his hands into fists. He was scared, not knowing how Myra was going to react.

"I love you." Myra didn't know what to say. She hadn't expected Hank to ever say those words to her. She did love him, but she was afraid to say it and for him to hear it. Once she let him know how she felt, she knew that she would be his.

"Hank . . . I . . ."

"You don't gotta say it if you ain't ready to." Myra was about to say something else, but Brian came running around.

"Ma just said Horace is wakin' up!" Myra glanced up at Hank. He nodded reluctantly.

"Go on. We'll talk about it later." Myra hurried off after Brian and Hank retreated toward the saloon.

Thunder rumbled in the distance as the old clock on the wall ticked away the minutes. Grace's café had reopened for the year, and Sully had given the children money to go have dinner together. Myra was upstairs sitting with Horace, who had fallen unconscious again before she had arrived. Sully was waiting for Michaela downstairs in the clinic.

He heard her gentle footsteps on the stairs, and a moment later, she walked through the door. Sully stood and walked over to her.

"How's Horace doin'?"

"No change. I've given him all of the charcoal that his body can take, and he's vomited up a lot of excess in his stomach, but he's still unconscious."

"You've done all you can?" Michaela nodded. "That's what matters. If Horace pulls through, he'll have you to thank."

"He'll also have Hank and Myra to thank. They brought him here. Myra's so upset. She blames herself. It wasn't her fault that Horace drank so much."

"Horace just didn't know how to handle losin' the woman he loved. I don't know what I'd have done if you decided you didn't want me anymore."

"That'll never happen," Michaela promised. "I've known from the start that we're supposed to be together. I wouldn't want it any other way." She put her hand on her stomach. "One day, we'll tell our little one how we met, and we'll tell him or her how we fell in love with each other from the start."

"You think our baby will believe it?"

"I hardly believed it myself," Michaela admitted with a melodious laugh. Sully grinned and kissed her gently. "But I know love at first sight is possible, because it happened the moment I saw you." Sully's heart melted at that moment, and he placed his hand over Michaela's as it rested on her tummy, and he gave her a loving, gentle kiss.

"I never thought I could be this happy again," Sully confessed.

"I never thought I could be this happy period. I guess that makes us even more perfect for each other."


	3. Angel

**Chapter 3: Angel**

Horace still hadn't woken up by the time dusk fell, but Grace promised to stay with Myra at the clinic in order to watch over him. They promised Dr. Mike to come get her as soon as he woke up; if he woke up. He was still in critical condition, so all anyone could do was hope and pray that he would pull through.

Sully, Matthew, and Sully were cleaning out the stables in the barn while Colleen sat milking the cow. Michaela, however, was taking a nap upstairs. She felt guilty for giving into her tiredness when she could be sitting with Horace, but Sully had to practically drag her away from the clinic so she could come home and rest.

The sound of an infant crying woke Michaela from her slumber. She looked around to see that the room was dark. It was past sunset. She walked over to the window, peered out into the pale moonlight, and saw Matthew and Brian throwing hay at each other. She shook her head and realized that the infant crying was probably her subconscious preparing her for waking in the middle of the night. A voice from behind startled her.

"Michaela." The voice was followed by an infant's whimper. Michaela whirled around to come face to face with a young, pale figure with black hair. She wore a plain blue and white dress and held a bundle in her arms.

"Who are you?" Michaela demanded. The figure swallowed hard, her eyes sparkled with tears. "What do you want?"

"You know who I am," she whispered. "You're married to my husband. You're carrying the child that should be mine!" Michaela's heart nearly stopped. She wondered if she was still dreaming, but she couldn't move her hands to pinch herself.

"Abagail," Michaela whispered.

"That's right." Michaela looked at the bundle in Abagail's arms. She could see the child's face, and it was as ghostly pale as its mother's.

"Hanna."

"Yes. This is Sully's daughter." Hanna had hair as black as coal like her mother had. She was beautiful!

"I'm dreaming. I have to be."

"You're not dreaming, Michaela."

"What do you want?"

"He's forgotten us. He doesn't come to visit us on Sunday anymore."

"What?" Michaela asked.

"He promised the night Hanna and I died, that he would come to our graves every Sunday. He broke that promise the day he married you."

"He hasn't forgotten you. He speaks of you often. It just hurts him . . ."

"He broke his promise! He came to the graveyard on Christmas day and he told me that he would always love me, but that you were the woman he knew he had to spend the rest of his life with. Now you are carrying his child! He has forgotten about me and our daughter!"

"No!" Michaela exclaimed. Tears were forming in her eyes. She wasn't sure if she was going crazy or not, but she sure felt like it. "Sully is so worried about this baby. He's worried that the same thing will happen to us as what happened to you and your daughter."

"It won't."

"What?" Michaela asked. Abagail's eyes stared into hers as if she was looking into her soul.

"There will be no deaths when you give birth, only life and hope for the future." Michaela felt a weight being lifted while at the same time, she felt a burden replacing it. She knew that she needed to ask Sully why he no longer came to Abagail's grave.

"Abagail, Sully hasn't forgotten either of you. I have seen him sitting up late at night, staring into the fire. I know he's thinking about what he lost, but at the same time, he's thinking about the future." Abagail began to cry. She fell to her knees with the child in her arms. "The cradle."

"Cradle?"

"Before I died," Abagail began, "I made Sully promise me that he would finish our daughter's cradle."

"What?"

"I didn't know the baby was going to die. I didn't know little Hanna wouldn't get to grow up into a woman. I told Sully that I wanted him to make sure her cradle got finished. Hanna was early, and he still hadn't put the finishing touches on her bed. He promised me, but he forgot! He never finished it!"

"Abagail, I'm sure he had a good reason. I'm sure it was too painful."

"He broke his promise." The door started to open, but Michaela didn't notice. Before her eyes, Abagail and her unborn child disappeared. "Abagail wait!"

"Abagail?" came her husband's voice. Michaela turned, her eyes spilling tears. "Did you say her name?"

"Oh, Sully," she whispered. She was trembling and Sully pulled her into his arms.

"What is it?" he asked. "Shh, what is it?"

"Abagail came to me," she whispered. She immediately regretted saying it. She wasn't sure how Sully would react, or if he would even believe her.

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"I woke up to an infant crying . . . and Abagail was there with your daughter."

"Michaela," he said, swallowing hard and shaking his head, "you must've been dreamin'."

"No! It wasn't a dream. I know it wasn't. She was kneeling on the floor crying, right there!" Michaela pointed to where she had last seen Abagail. "Oh, Sully, please don't think I'm crazy. I know what I saw."

"Michaela, you're real tired. Maybe you just think you saw . . ."

"No!" Michaela exclaimed. "She was upset because you never come to the graveyard anymore."

"What? How did you . . ."

"Abagail told me that you came to the graveyard and told her that you'd always love her but I was the woman you had to spend the rest of your life with." Sully and Michaela moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I did say that. I don't visit them anymore because they ain't my life. You and the children are my life." He put his hand on her stomach. "This baby's my life." Michaela smiled at him and she hugged him. She wasn't quite sure if he believed her or not. Then something came to her.

"The cradle," she whispered.

"What?" Michaela pulled away and brushed the tears away from her eyes, wiping the perspiration from her upper lip.

"The cradle. You promised Abagail that you would finish the cradle." Sully stood and he looked down at his wife, not sure of what he was supposed to be feeling.

"How did you know about that?"

"She told me, Sully! I'm not crazy! I'm not making it up. She told me you promised to finish Hanna's cradle, but you never did because Hanna died." Sully sucked in a deep breath, and his eyes clouded over with his tears.

"How could you know about it unless . . ."

"She was here, Sully. She was right in front of me. I can't explain it, but it's true." Sully knelt on the floor in front of Michaela as she sat on the bed. He took her hands in his and brought them to his lips. He kissed her trembling hands and looked into her eyes.

"I believe you. Nobody besides me knew Abagail had said that," Sully replied. "It was just between the two of us, and I know I never mentioned it."

"Sully, you should finish her cradle."

"What?"

"Hanna's cradle. You should finish it."

"Why?"

"Because Abagail thinks you've forgotten about them. She says you broke your promise."

"Michaela, I can't just finish that cradle. It's too hard. It ain't right."

"Why not?"

"Because I've got another child on the way, and finishin' a cradle for a child that's dead don't seem like the right thing to do."

"Hanna was just as much your child as this one."

"You think I don't know that? Why is this so important to you?!" Sully yelled, standing up and pacing the room. Michaela jumped at Sully's anger. She didn't think she'd ever seen him so angry or upset. "I can't finish that cradle, Michaela!"

"I'm sorry, Sully. I'm sorry I've upset you. But, I know that if you made a promise to me, I would want you to carry through on it. I know Hanna's gone, but her memory and her spirit is living on. If you finish that cradle, she and Abagail can both rest in peace." Sully walked back over to Michaela and pressed a kiss on her cheek.

"I'm sorry I snapped at ya. I need to go do some thinkin'. I'll be back late." Michaela nodded and felt the urge to cry again. "I love you."

"I love you," she replied quietly. Sully left the room and shut the door behind him. Michaela felt a chill and wondered if Abagail was still with her.

Horace was still sleeping, and Myra was watching over him while Grace napped in another room. There had been no change, and Myra was beginning to wonder if Horace had given up. Maybe he didn't want to live. She knew he had wanted to drink his problems out of his mind, but he had gone too far.

A gentle knock on the door startled Myra out of her thoughts. Maybe it was Grace coming to check on her. But the face that appeared when the door opened wasn't Grace's.

"Hank? What are ya doin' here?" Myra asked, rubbing her tired eyes.

"I thought ya might like some company."

"That would be nice."

"How's he doin'?"

"No change," Myra replied. "Dr. Mike ain't sure he's gonna make it."

"I swear I didn't mean for this to happen."

"I know," Myra replied. "We all make mistakes. We shouldn't blame one another."

"Our ourselves," Hank pointed out. Myra swallowed hard. She leaned over and put her hand on Horace's forehead. His skin was still clammy. That wasn't a good sign.

"Hank, I need to talk to ya 'bout somethin'."

"Okay."

"Not here. Not in front of Horace." Hank nodded and followed her out of the room.

"Alright. What's goin' on?"

"Earlier, you said somethin' that I wasn't expectin' to hear."

"You mean when I told ya I love ya?"

"Yeah," Myra replied. "Did you really mean it?"  
"'Course I did," Hank replied. Myra took a deep breath.

"I love you too." Hank smiled at her, and Myra practically melted. He leaned in to kiss her, and she accepted his kiss for a moment before breaking away from him.

"What's the matter?"

"I've been thinkin'."

"'Bout what?"

"About your business. I ain't really got a problem with the saloon."

"That's good, 'cause that's really all I know how to do."

"What I've got a problem with is the girls."

"What are you sayin'?"

"I'm sayin' that if you're gonna make money from havin' girls entertain different men, I can't be with ya."

"Myra . . ."

"I know it's a lot to ask, because that's part of runnin' a saloon these days. I wouldn't mind the girls workin' there, but I don't like what goes on in the back."

"Myra, you're actually asking me to get rid of the biggest part of my business?"

"I think it'd be a good thing to do."

"I can't do that."

"Hank, before we even continue our relationship, you gotta decide what's more important." Myra walked back into Horace's room to sit with him while Hank stood in the hallway, not knowing what to do next.

The old homestead had been abandoned for months now, and cobwebs had settled into every corner of the house and barn. Sully opened the door and could still faintly smell the stables before they'd been cleaned.

Sully leaned against the door of the barn, and he lit a lantern to place upon a stable post. The light from the lantern illuminated the barn enough for Sully to make his way over to the cradle that had been sitting there since the night Hanna and Abagail died.

He brushed the dust and the cobwebs off of it and picked it up. He took it over to place upon a large wooden crate, and he knelt down to run his hands over the smooth wood. The cradle was actually finished except for the final touch Sully wanted to add to it. He had intended to carve Hanna's name into the front of it. She was to be the first Sully child to sleep in it, but she wasn't supposed to be the last.

Abagail and Sully hadn't known for a fact that they were going to have a daughter, but they had both had the same vision of having a little girl, and they decided that they were going to prepare for one. Sully still remembered the pale look on Abagail's face and the tears in her eyes when she asked him to finish the cradle.

Michaela had been right. In order to put Abagail and Hanna both at rest, he had to keep his promise to finish the cradle. The one promise he couldn't keep, however, was the promise he made to visit the graveyard every Sunday.

Sully took out his knife and he began to carve Hanna's name into it. He and Abagail had wondered about which way to spell their daughter's name, and they had decided to spell it without the last 'h' because it was less common. With each letter he carved, more memories of Abagail's pregnancy came flooding back to him. With each letter, he felt a little more at peace with his family's passing. It was as if he was finishing up their unfinished business, when it was in fact his own business he hadn't finished.

When the work was done, Sully knew what he had to do. He picked up the cradle, which was surprisingly lightweight, blew out the light in the lantern, and he headed off into town. He passed all of the trees that he and Abagail had sat under during picnics, and they all seemed to be easing his pain. But the one thing that could take away most of the pain was the family he had waiting for him back at the homestead. They were the most important part of his life now, and going back to do something for the family he once had seemed to be a foreign experience.

He finally made it into town and crossed the deserted streets into the churchyard. By the time he reached the graveyard, the wind had become chilly and he was starting to shiver. He placed the cradle down on Hanna's grave and knelt down beside it.

"Hanna, it's your pa. I know I ain't been comin' 'round anymore, but that don't mean I love you any less. You'll always be your papa's first girl, and even though we didn't get much time together, you were the light of my life for nine whole months. When you were born, I was so proud to be your pa, and I missed ya so much when you were gone. I will always love you and your ma. You both have a special place in my heart that nobody can ever take away." He turned to Abagail's grave. "You were the first lady I ever loved. You were beautiful and sweet, and I will never forget about you. Michaela is completely different from you, and I love her more than life itself. She and I are havin' a baby soon, and I want ya to know that just because I've moved on, I ain't forgot about ya. The reason I'm not comin' around anymore is because I have a new family and a new life. I have to put them first now, but I will never forget what we had. Never." Sully stood and turned around to walk away from Abagail and Hanna for the last time. He saw Loren standing a few feet away.

"I didn't wanna eavesdrop," he said quietly. "But I saw ya headin' across town, and I thought you mighta been a burglar. I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I was finished."  
"You finished my granddaughter's cradle."

"Yeah."  
"What made ya decide to do that?"

"A lot of things," Sully replied. He took a deep breath and realized how long he'd been gone. "I need to get back to my family." Loren nodded in understanding.

"Abagail would have appreciated what you've done." Sully nodded.

"I know." He walked off after that, leaving Loren with his daughter and granddaughter.

Michaela sat in a rocking chair at her bedroom window. She was looking for any sign of Sully coming home. She felt terrible for asking him to finish that cradle, and she hoped that she hadn't upset him too terribly.

"Thank you," came a voice nearby. Michaela stood and looked over toward the fireplace. Abagail was kneeling by the fire, rocking Hanna's cradle with her hand.

"He finished it," Michaela whispered with a slight smile.

"He did," Abagail replied with a smile. "I know now that he's happy with you and your children."

"Thank you, Abagail."

"Thank you for giving him a family, Michaela. Don't worry about this pregnancy. Everything will be fine." Abagail and Hanna disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, and Michaela felt the tears beginning to fall again. The door to the bedroom opened and Sully walked in. He smiled at his wife when she walked over to hug him.

"I figured you'd be in bed."

"You finished Hanna's cradle."

"How'd you know?"

"I just know," Michaela whispered. She kissed his cheek. "I'm sorry, though. I shouldn't have been so demanding."

"It's alright. I made my peace with Abagail and Hanna."

"I know," Michaela replied. She and Sully walked over to sit on the bed. Michaela swallowed hard and took Sully's hands in hers.

"If I ever get too demanding, please just let me know. I don't want to force you to do anything you don't want to do."

"Michaela, I love you so much, and I'm happy you talked me into finishin' that cradle."

"You are?"

"Yeah. I feel a lot better now that it's done, and tomorrow, I'm going to get started on our baby's cradle." Michaela smiled and hugged her husband.

"I love you too," she whispered. Michaela and Sully fell asleep in one another's arms later that night, and both of them had the same dream, a vision including the birth of their first child. The vision neither showed the child's face nor revealed whether it was a boy or girl, but it did promise a safe and healthy delivery.


	4. Midnight Snack

**Chapter 4: Midnight Snack**

A few days had passed, and Michaela's mood swings were coming fewer and far between. Sully was grateful, because Michaela wasn't weepy, and she was happy most of the time now. Ever since her apparent final encounter with Abagail, she seemed like a rejuvenated woman.

The town was starting to progress as well. The townsmen were all pitching in to build the school, with the exception of Sully and Robert E., who had their own obvious reasons for not wanting to help out.

Michaela had been busier than ever at the clinic, and Sully was sure that contributed to her mood swings becoming so infrequent. She had something else to do and other things on her mind. Over the past few days, Michaela had delivered three babies, performed an emergency appendectomy on Mr. Garney, and stitched up at least five children's knees.

Michaela's cravings, however, had not stopped. Sully knew he had about six more months of Michaela's strange cravings, and he knew that he could put up with them because it was for a wonderful cause.

Michaela was sitting at her desk at the clinic when Myra walked in. Myra looked tired and a little upset. It was understandable, because Horace had gone into shock a day ago, and he hadn't woken up. Michaela was concerned because she had never seen anyone take so long to wake from alcohol poisoning. She was starting to wonder if maybe there was something more she could do, so she had been spending the entire morning looking through medical books and new reports, hoping to find some other way to help the telegraph operator. The town wasn't doing well without him. He was one of the most needed people in town, because he was their connection to the outside world.

"No change today?" Myra asked.

"I'm afraid not."

"I don't think he wants to wake up, Dr. Mike. I think he wants to die," Myra whispered. She sat down in a chair across from Michaela's desk. Michaela put her hand on Myra's. The poor woman hadn't slept much at all, and this morning, Michaela had asked her to leave for awhile to go get coffee and breakfast at Grace's. Myra was so worried about Horace that she was neglecting herself, and most of all, she was denying her heart.

"Myra, have you decided anything about Hank?" Myra sighed and swallowed hard. The tears were trying to flow, but she was fighting them back.

"I feel so bad, Dr. Mike. Hank loves me so much, and I love him, but I can't be with him if he's going to continue to have saloon girls that entertain men in private. You know what I mean. Prostitutes."

"I know," Michaela replied.

"I told him that he had to choose what was more important. He's been avoidin' me since then, but every time I catch him lookin' at me, he looks away like he feels guilty."

"Maybe he does."

"I don't know," Myra replied, wiping her nose with a handkerchief. "If only this hadn't happened to Horace, I might be able to think a little clearer. It just ain't fair what happened. It ain't fair to any of us. I still feel like I coulda done somethin' to help Horace. I couldn't live a lie. I couldn't pretend to be in love with him."

"I know," Michaela replied with a reassuring smile. "You have to do what's best for your heart. You can't let anyone tell you what to do." Myra nodded and sniffled.

"Thanks, Dr. Mike."

"Anytime," Michaela replied.

"I'm gonna go sit with him some more."

"Alright, but please don't stay up there all day. You need fresh air and food."

"I won't stay long," Myra promised. She stood and went upstairs to sit with Horace. Michaela shook her head, feeling bad for Myra. The poor woman had been through a lot, and she was beating herself up on the inside for what happened to Horace.

A knock came to the clinic door, and Loren walked in.

"Loren? How are you today?"

"I'm alright," he replied, fidgeting nervously.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

"Uh, I don't know."

"Are you feeling aliright?"  
"Not exactly."

"Will you let me examine you?"  
"No!" Michaela sighed heavily. She always became so frustrated with the men who were reluctant to let her examine her. It wasn't as if she enjoyed it. She was always professional.

"Well, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, I've sorta got a rash," he began.

"A rash? Where?"

"You know where!" Loren snapped.

"Oh," Michaela replied, her eyes widening a little.

"I think it's cause I went fishin' the other day. My trousers got all wet and I rode home in 'em."

"Alright," Michaela replied with an amused smile. She walked over to her cabinet and pulled out a small jar. "Put this salve on twice a day, once when you wake and once before you go to bed. That should clear it right up."

"What do I owe ya?" Loren asked.

"Just let me know when it's gone." She placed the jar in his hand and he smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Dr. Mike." Loren left quickly and Michaela shook her head. She sucked in a deep breath and her stomach began to growl. She was hungry yet again, even though she had just had breakfast a couple of hours ago at home.

"Alright little one," she whispered. "I'll take a break." She pulled her coat on and started off across town to Grace's. Grace had been kind enough to give Myra a few days off to help look after Horace, and she seemed to be doing alright by herself seeing as most people were at work or at home. Grace loved this part of the day because she actually had time to herself to sit down and eat.

"Mornin', Dr. Mike!" Grace greeted her friend.

"Good morning, Grace. The baby must be hungry again." That was her latest excuse. Grace chuckled in understanding.

"I'll fix you both somethin' right away."

"Thank you," Michaela nodded. She sat down at a table and Grace poured her a cup of milk. She drank it down quickly.

"Are ya cravin' anything?"

"Not at the moment," Michaela replied. "I'm afraid the children are worried I'm going to eat everything in the house." Grace laughed and shook her head.

"They just ain't used to havin' a pregnant lady around, I s'pose." Michaela shrugged her shoulders. Grace fixed up her famous meatloaf and mashed potatoes and served it to the doctor. Grace sat down across from her and smiled. "What do ya think it's gonna be? A boy or a girl?" Michaela thought for a moment.

"Oh, I don't know. I'd be happy with either. Brian and Matthew seem to really want a boy, but Colleen really wants it to be a girl. Sully and I don't care what it is, as long as it's happy and healthy."

"All parents say that," Grace chuckled. "But what do you want? Come on, you have to want one more than the other."

"No, really," Michaela laughed. "If it's a boy, that would be good, because Sully would have his firstborn son. If it's a girl, that would also be good, because I've always wanted a little girl. But I've got Brian, Matthew, and Colleen now, so I'm content with either one."

"Have ya picked out any names yet?" Grace asked thoughtfully.

"We know for sure that if it's a girl, her name will be Katherine Elizabeth Charlotte Sully. Katherine after Sully's mother, Elizabeth after my mother, and Charlotte after, well, Charlotte."

"That' a beautiful name!"

"Yes," Michaela agreed.

"What about if it's a boy?"

"I think Sully would laugh at me if I suggested Byron the second." Grace laughed and nodded.

"I think it's safe to say that he would forbid naming your baby that."

"I want my father's name to be his middle name, if it's a boy. We haven't really talked about names since before we found out we were expecting. We're too busy thinking about what the baby's going to look like and be like to really worry about names or whether it'll be a boy or a girl."

"Me and Robert E. wanna have a baby. I can tell that Robert E. would love to have a son, and I would love to have one too. A little boy would be perfect for us."

"I believe you're right," Michaela agreed with a nod.

As soon as she was finished eating, Michaela made her way back over to the clinic. She had been so busy lately, that she savored the wonderful moments she had outside of it. Her favorite part of the day was coming home to Sully and the children.

She was surprised when she walked inside to see Sully standing at the window.

"Sully? What are you doing here?" she asked in a very pleasant tone. She smiled and walked over to her husband. He pulled her into her arms and answered her with a kiss.

"I just wanted to see my beautiful wife." Sully kissed her again and she giggled as his hands made their way down her back to rest on her hips.

"Sully!" she exclaimed with a chuckle. He laughed and let Michaela go.

"Are ya feelin' okay?"

"Yes, Sully. You don't have to ask me that every time you see me. I'm fine." She gave him a peck on the cheek. Sully smiled and put his hand on Michaela's fairly flat tummy.

"I can't wait until ya really start showin'." Michaela put her hand over Sully's.

"Neither can I."

"I thought ya said you looked fat already."

"And you told me I didn't," Michaela replied, folding her arms over her chest.

"You don't look fat," Sully replied, realizing that he was about to get himself into trouble. "You look beautiful, and I love you more than I ever though possible. This baby inside proves that." Michaela thanked him with a loving kiss.

Sully woke when Michaela shifted in his arms. They had spent the past several hours showing their enthusiasm for one another.

"Michaela?" He sat up as she stood and put her robe around her waist. "Where ya goin'?"

"Nature calls," she replied with a yawn.

"Ah," Sully replied with a knowing nod.

"I'll be back in a couple of minutes." Michaela hurried out of the room, silently thanking God that Sully had put indoor plumbing in their house. She really didn't want to have to run outside to use the outhouse.

Sully chuckled to himself, knowing that later in Michaela's pregnancy, nature would be calling much more frequently. That happened with Abagail a lot, and he knew that poor Michaela would be running back and forth at all hours of the day and night. He didn't mind though, because he knew from his experience with Abagail, that it was all a normal part of pregnancy, and just another sign that all was well.

Sully started to doze off, but he wanted to wait for Michaela, so they could hold each other the rest of the night. He stood and walked over to put a couple more logs onto the fire.

After about ten minutes, Sully started to get concerned. What if she had fallen in the dark? Sully quickly pulled his pants on and rushed out of the bedroom, into the hallway, and down the stairs.

"Michaela?!" he asked in a frantic whisper, not wanting to wake the kids. He half expected to see her lying at the bottom of the stairs, but then again, he would have heard her fall. But, he didn't see her on the floor. In fact, she was sitting at the kitchen table with a basket of cold fried chicken that Grace had given her. She wasn't eating though. She was fast asleep with her head cradled in her arms. Sully smiled and shook his head. He figured that on her way back from answering nature, she had smelled the friend chicken and decided to have a midnight snack. Unfortunately she had been too tired to finish it.

Sully gently scooped his wife up into his arms. She stirred a little.

"Hmm?" She was half-asleep.

"You fell asleep at the table."

"I was hungry," she whispered before her eyes closed completely and her head lolled on Sully's shoulder. He grinned and kissed her forehead.

"Let's get you back to bed." Sully continued up the stairs with his wife in his arms, not minding having to come downstairs and carry her to bed, because he enjoyed every moment he got to spend with his wife, whether she was awake or sleeping. Either way, she was the most beautiful creature he'd ever set eyes upon. He couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life taking care of her when she needed him the most. He knew she was independent, but being able to be there for her in moments such as this one made him feel like all was right in the world.


	5. Worries and Hopes

**Chapter 5: Worries and Hopes**

By the middle of April, Michaela was showing, and she could barely tear Sully's hand from her belly at night when they held each other in their sleep. She didn't mind though, because she knew Sully was being protective of her and their child.

Colleen, Matthew, and Brian liked to touch her belly too, and Michaela enjoyed how happy the children were to be getting a sibling. She did have a concern though. She had yet to feel the baby kick, and she was at the beginning of her second trimester. She knew that some women didn't feel kicks until later in their pregnancy, but she was worried that something was wrong. She knew that Abagail had assured her everything would be fine, but she was a doctor, and she was afraid that perhaps something really was going wrong.

She checked the baby's heartbeat with her stethoscope every day, and everything seemed normal, but she was still very concerned. She didn't tell Sully about her concerns, however, because she didn't want him to worry that something had gone wrong. She was already doing enough worrying for the both of them.

Sully was worried that Michaela was spending too much time on her feet, so every evening, he would make sure she would be comfortable in a chair in front of the fire. He was so sweet, and Michaela loved the way he doted on her and the light he had in his eyes every time he looked at her rounding belly.

Michaela had several things on her mind including the baby. One of those things, though, was Myra's relationship with Hank. Every day she would see them pining after one another. It was obvious that Hank loved her very much, but he was too stubborn to give up the moneymaker of his business. She wondered if there was anything that could ever make him change his mind. Poor Myra cried herself to sleep most nights, as far as Michaela could tell, because sometimes she would stay late at the clinic to finish cleaning up, and she would hear the sobs coming from the young woman's room.

Horace had woken up while Myra wasn't sitting with him. Grace has been sitting with him, and he wanted to get out before he had to face Myra. He had gone back to work at the telegraph, but every time Myra would come by to post a letter or send a telegraph, he wouldn't look her in the eye. He felt humiliated and he still seemed very depressed.

On this day, Michaela was seated with Sully at Grace's. The children were supposed to be joining them for lunch, but the three of them were over in the churchyard, watching some of the townsmen build the little schoolhouse.

"They've really excited about that school," Michaela said with a laugh as she took a sip of Grace's wonderful apple cider. "I've never seen children so excited to learn before!" Sully made a face and Michael a looked at him curiously. "What was that look for?"

"I'm sure you were just as excited about them. You're always wantin' to learn new things."

"Yes, I suppose I'm that way now, but my older sisters would have to pry my hands off of the stair rails to get me out the front door in the mornings. I hated school."

"Why?" Sully asked, wanting to know more about his wife's childhood. Michaela shrugged and looked down as her fingers began to trace patterns on her belly.

"No reason," she replied.

"Come on," he urged, tilting her chin up so she would look him in the eyes. He took her hands in his. "You can tell me anything." Michaela swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"I suppose I didn't like going to school because I didn't have any friends."

"What?" Sully couldn't believe that his beauty of a wife didn't have friends as a child. He saw the tears springs to her eyes, and he knew that part of it was because of the hormones, but the other part was due to her memories of her childhood. He felt bad for bringing it up. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No. No. It's alright. See, I had a wonderful childhood. Anything I ever wanted or needed, I would get, but what I wanted the most was a friend. I never had friends because I was too concerned with my studies, and when people started making fun of me for knowing all of the answers, I would stop wanting to go to school. I would fake being sick, which wasn't smart considering my father was a doctor, and I would do everything I felt that I could in order to get out of going. But my father would sit me down and tell me that people treated him the same in elementary as I was being treated. Then he told me that now, everyone respected him, and that someday I would be respected too. I suppose that's around the time I started thinking about becoming a doctor. I really didn't make a true decision until I was seventeen or eighteen, but I knew I wanted to be respected like my father was."

"It must've been hard tryin' to walk in your pa's shadow."

"It was," Michaela remembered with a nod. She laughed at a memory. "Once my father told me I didn't have to walk in my shoes, so I tried to put his shoes on and walk around in them. That was before I knew the difference between figurative and literal." Sully chuckled and rubbed Michaela's hands between his.

"I'm sure that our baby will be just like her ma."

"So now it's a girl again?"

"Well, I'm sure we'll have a daughter someday, and I bet she'll wanna be just like you." Michaela smiled and brushed Sully's cheek with her lily-white fingers. "Michaela, you won't mind if our baby gets to know the Cheyenne will you?"

"Why would I mind? Cloud Dancing is family to you, so he's family to me. I would be honored if our baby had the Cheyenne as a second family." Sully's face lit up proudly and he leaned across the table to kiss his wife.

"It's so good to hear you say that."  
"How could you think I wouldn't want our baby to know your other family?"

"I don't know. I know ma's are real protective of their babies."

"Well, our baby won't be in any harm with them. I know the Cheyenne are our friends. There's no reason they can't be friends to our baby either." Sully kissed Michaela's hand and they both stood.

"Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Let's go for a walk. It's a nice day, and I wanna be alone with ya."

"Should we tell the children?"

"They're busy watchin' the school bein' built. We won't be gone long." Sully gave Michaela's hand a reassuring squeeze, and they walked off hand-in-hand toward the meadow.

"What are ya gonna get for ma and pa's baby?" Brian asked as he and his older brother and sister walked toward the mercantile.

"It's kinda early to be thinkin' 'bout that, Brian," Matthew said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but we don't have no money."

"We'll work somethin' out," Colleen replied. "Right, Matthew?"  
"Right." He cleared his throat and looked down at his little brother. "I've got a few odd jobs lined up that'll pay a few dollars each. If I save that, and Colleen saves her butter and egg money, we should have enough to pay for gifts for the baby."

"But what about me? I ain't old enough to have a job, and I wanna give the baby somethin' special."

"Well, you can share our gifts," Colleen offered.

"No! I want it to be somethin' just from me!" Brian insisted. Matthew and Colleen shared exasperated glances as they continued their walk toward the mercantile.

"What kinda gift do you wanna buy for the bay?" Colleen asked curiously while fidgeting with a loose string on the arm sleeve of her dress.

"I don't know," Brian replied as he shrugged his shoulders. "It just has to be special."

"Since ya don't want us sharin' our gifts with ya, maybe you could make the baby somethin'," Matthew suggested.

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Colleen exclaimed. "I was plannin' on buyin' some fabric to make a quilt for the baby. Maybe you can do that too."

"I ain't sewin' nothin'! That's girl stuff!" Colleen crossed her arms and glared at her little brother.

"Well if your hair was any longer, you'd look like a little girl."

"Hey!" Brian yelled.

"Knock it off!" Matthew warned, knowing that he had to step in as the big brother and calm his siblings down before they got too out of control. "Dr. Mike won't like the two of you fightin'."

"She started it!" Brian complained.

"Come on," Matthew ordered. "Let's go get what Dr. Mike needs at the mercantile." Colleen and Brian followed behind him without speaking to one another. When they got inside, Matthew picked up a jar of fresh canned peaches, while Colleen found a jar of molasses. When they put the supplies up on the counter, Loren stared at the two items they had purchased.

"Your ma's havin' those strange cravings again, huh?"

"Again? When did she stop?" Colleen nudged her older brother in the ribs for that comment. Loren just laughed while Colleen collected the items into her basket.

"Will you put this on our account?"

"Sure thing." The children left the mercantile and started off toward the churchyard again to watch the construction of the new school.

Sully and Michaela made their way through a clearing in the woods. They came upon Sully's old lean-to. Everything Sully had stored there had been taken to the new homestead when they moved in, but the lean-to was still there.

"It's still standing," Michaela pointed out.

"Yup. I made sure it would last through the strong weather. Plus the trees shield if from a lot of the wind." Sully sat down under the lean to and Michaela sat down between his legs. She leaned against his body as his arms closed around her, and his hands rested on her protruding belly.

"I can't wait to bring this little one out here," Michaela whispered as she leaned her head back on Sully's shoulder and craned her neck to look up into his eyes. Sully answered her with a tender kiss upon her lips. Michaela sighed as his hands began to caress her belly. She bit her bottom lip and pulled her medical bag to her side. She put the stethoscope into her ears and listened to the sound of her baby's heart. She smiled when she heard it beating normally.

"Do you want to hear our baby's heartbeat?"

"You can actually hear it with those things?"

"Yes. It sounds a little bubbly because the baby's surrounded by amniotic fluid. It an amazing sound, Sully." Michaela crawled out of Sully's lap and got on her knees beside him. She put the earpieces in her husband's ears and pressed the other piece to her belly.

"I don't hear anything," he said with concern. Michaela moved the piece around a bit and the look of concern on Sully's face changed to pure pride and joy.

"That's our baby?" he asked.

"That's our baby!" Michaela giggled.

"So if we can hear the baby out here, I wonder if it can hear us?"

"That's not a proven fact, but I believe it's possible." Sully took the earpieces of out of his ears and put them on either side of Michaela's belly. Michaela held them in place and tears came to her eyes when Sully spoke into the other end of the stethoscope.

"This is your pa," he said with a big goofy grin on his face. Michaela couldn't help but laugh. She loved her husband so very much, and she knew he was going to be amazing with their baby. "Can ya hear me?" He put his hand on Michaela's belly, hoping to feel the baby kick. Michaela's face fell again. The baby's heart was beating, yes, but what if something was wrong? She would have no way of knowing until the birth, and she was stricken with fear. Sully continued, "You must be sleeping, huh? You rest now. Your ma and I will see you this fall." Sully gave Michaela her stethoscope, and she quickly put it back in her medical bag. He noticed the fear in her eyes. "Michaela? What is it?"

"It's nothing," she lied, not wanting to upset him, but the tear that trickled down her cheek told him that something was wrong.

"What are you frettin' about?" She took a deep breath, trying to relax her fears. She needed comfort in knowing that someone else knew what she was worried about. She knew it wasn't good for either her or the baby to keep the worry bottled up inside.

"Sully, I . . ." She was finding that the words were having trouble coming out. "I don't want to frighten you." Sully took Michaela's hand in his and squeezed it gently.

"Just tell me."

"I haven't . . . I haven't felt a kick yet."

"Is that what you're worried about?" Sully asked, his heart starting to beat normally again after having recently been caught in his throat.

"Yes. I know the baby has a strong heartbeat, but I don't know anything else about him or her. Some women are later in their second trimesters before they feel a kick, but I've known women to feel movement in the fourth month or before."

"Michaela, our baby's fine, alright? There's nothin' to worry about."

"Sully, I can't help but worry."

"Just you wait. The first time you feel our baby kick, you'll know that it's all gonna be alright." Michaela smiled and kissed Sully lovingly.

"I hope he or she starts to kick soon."

"I'm sure it will." Sully kissed her hand and Michaela settled back into his lap where his hands moved around to rest on her belly again.

"Sully?"

"Hmm?"

"Tell me about your childhood? I've never asked you about it before." Sully kissed the top of Michaela's head.

"Alright. You deserve to know since you've told me about your childhood." He took a deep breath. "I was born on a ship somewhere out in the middle of the ocean. My ma and pa were so proud because I was their first and only child. When we got to America, my pa started a farm, and my ma spent her days lookin' after me. My pa got killed when he was chasin' a horse thief off our land. My ma took it hard and she sent me to live with my aunt where I could be better looked after. Next thing I knew, ma fell sick and died before I could even say goodbye." Michaela heard Sully's voice crack a little. She rubbed his arm softly, letting him know she understood. "About eighteen years ago, when I was ten, I ran away from my aunt's house. She got married and her husband was a drunk. He tried to beat on me, so I ran away. I ran away all the way to Colorado and the Cheyenne saved my life. I didn't grow up with 'em or anything, but I spent my years out in the woods, teachin' myself things I never got to learn in school."

"Oh Sully, that's terrible," Michaela whispered. "I'm sorry your childhood didn't turn out different."

"I'm not. If my aunt hadn't have gotten married, or if my ma never sent me to live with her, I probably never woulda met you. I'm thankful that you came into my life."

"I'm even more thankful," Michaela whispered, "because technically, you came into my life. You were in Boston."

"You were the only person who didn't turn their back on me and Cloud Dancin'."

"I'm glad my father raised me the way he did. I'm not saying that I'm glad Cloud Dancing was injured, but I'm so glad you cared enough for your friend to bring him into a hospital knowing the risks you were taking." Sully kissed Michaela's cheek.

"I think that somehow I knew in my heart that somebody would have a big enough heart to take him in. I'm glad that somebody was you."

_"Come here my sweet," Michaela said with a big grin as she picked a tiny baby up out of a cradle that Sully made. The baby grinned at her with a gummy smile. The door to the bedroom opened and Sully walked in with a baby's blanket in his hand. "Look, Katie. Pa's back."_

_"Hello Kates," Sully whispered, pulling his baby daughter into his arms. "Did you have a good nap?" Katie giggled and Michaela sat down on the edge of the bed. She watched Sully with the little one, and she saw how his face lit up. The baby began to fuss a little. "I think she's hungry." He placed the baby in Michaela's lap and sat down behind her on the bed. Michaela unbuttoned a few buttons on her gown and let the baby begin to nurse. She closed her eyes when Sully began to rub her neck. "You feelin' alright?"_

"Mmm, I feel wonderful," Michaela whispered. Sully brought a hand down Michaela's arm and gently caressed Katie's soft blonde hair. Michaela smiled as Katie cooed at her mother's breast. Sully kissed Michaela's neck and got off of the bed to go add a couple of logs to the fire. Michaela continued to feed Katie, and when the child was done eating, She buttoned her gown up and put the baby on the bed. Suddenly, she felt an odd sensation in her stomach. "Sully?"

"Sully! Sully! Wake up!" Michaela exclaimed, sitting up in bed. She shook her sleeping husband's arm vigorously. He quickly sat up, thinking something had gone wrong, and he peered at Michaela whose face was glowing in the firelight.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"The baby's kicking! It's kicking!" she exclaimed. "Give me your hand!" She took Sully's hand and put it on her stomach where the light flutter was still occurring. A look of hope flushed over Sully's face as he felt his child kicking for the first time. The feeling he was experience was indescribable, but when he looked into Michaela's eyes, so many questions came to his mind.

"That's our baby kicking?" he asked. "You're sure it ain't indigestion or somethin'?"

"I'm sure," Michaela laughed. "I've never felt anything like this before. It's so incredible, Sully. You were right. I know everything is going to be alright now that I can actually feel our little one inside of me." Sully brought Michaela's hand to his lips and he kissed it gently. He kept his free hand on Michaela's belly, relishing the feeling of his child's tiny feet kicking Michaela gently on the inside.

A knock came to the door, and Michaela and Sully looked at one another.

"Is everything alright?" Matthew asked. "We heard Dr. Mike screamin'!" Michaela and Sully looked at each other with knowing grins. Sully pulled his pants on and Michaela quickly pulled her gown on.

"Children, come in!" Michaela called. The door opened and three curious face appeared in the doorway. Michaela motioned for them to come over to the bed.

"What's goin' on?" Colleen asked, rubbing her eyes.

"The baby's kickin'," Sully said like a proud papa.

"Really?!" Colleen exclaimed. She hurried to put her hand on Michaela's belly. "Oh my gosh!" The Cooper children took turns feeling the bubbling sensation occurring inside of Michaela.

"That must feel funny to you, huh ma?" Brian asked.

"It feels wonderful," Michaela answered, looking lovingly at Sully.

A few minutes later, the children were going back to their rooms. The baby had stopped kicking, but Michaela and Sully couldn't go to sleep. They continued to sit up in bed, waiting for another kick from their baby.

"It's still so hard to believe," Sully admitted. "I can't believe that I've got you and our family. We're having a baby. It all seems too good to be true."

"I know what you mean, Sully. But it is true, but if this was some kind of a dream, I'd never want to wake up."


	6. The Letter

Chapter 6: The Letter 

Michaela made her way into the telegraph office where Horace was sitting in his usual chair and sorting the mail.

"Good morning, Horace," Michaela said with a smile, hoping to get one in return.

"Mornin', Dr. Mike," he replied, not looking up. "You only got a letter today. It's from Boston."

"Oh, alright," Michaela said, delighted that someone in her family had finally gotten word and replied about the pregnancy. Horace handed her the envelope and went back to his work. "How are you feeling today?"

"Just fine," he replied. Michaela swallowed hard, knowing that wasn't the case. She knew Horace had to work some things out for himself though. She sighed and put her hand on his shoulder.

"If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me." Horace didn't act as if he'd heard what Michaela had said. She turned around and left the telegraph office reluctantly, hoping that something or someone would come along that could help Horace in the way that he needed. But all she could do for now was offer to listen to him.

As she was starting across the street toward the clinic, she opened up the letter and began to read it.

_Dear Michaela,_

_Your father and I have just received the wonderful news that you and Sully are expecting! We are offering our warmest thoughts and wishes to you and your new family. Your sisters are also sending their love along with this letter. Your father and I will be arriving on the twentieth of April by stagecoach, assuming there will be no delays at the train station. Your sisters wish to come along, but they have other obligations with their families. We will see you soon!_

_Love, mother and father_

Michaela put the envelope away with a smile on her face as she walked into the clinic, but as she shut the door and glanced at the calendar on the wall, she realized that the twentieth was tomorrow! She didn't have the house prepared yet, and she would have to have Brian and Matthew share their room again in order for Josef and Elizabeth to have room. Perhaps they would be content with staying at the clinic again.

Michaela didn't need the added stress of making sure the children were comfortable with sharing rooms, and she knew it would be an easier transition for Brian if he didn't have to give his room up.

After putting her medical bag on the bench beside the door so she wouldn't forget it on her way home, she sat down at her desk and pulled the letter out again. A few minutes later, Sully walked in with a bouquet of fresh wildflowers in his hand.

"Sully! They're beautiful!" she exclaimed as he shut the clinic's door behind him.

"What makes you think they're for you?" he asked with a wink. Michaela knew he was joking, and she held her hands out. He placed them in her hands and she brought them to her nose.

"They smell wonderful. Where did you find them?"

"They were the first blooms of the season," he replied.

"Really?"

"Yep." Michaela walked over and poured water into a vase before sticking the beautiful arrangement into it.

"This adds the perfect touch of color to this drab office." She yawned a little and Sully smiled at her.

"How are ya feelin' today?"

"Very good. Every since the baby started kicking, I've felt more alive for the first time in a long time."

"Oh? I believe that's what you said after our first night as husband and wife," Sully replied with a grin.

"Sully!" Michaela blushed. She quickly sat back down at her desk. Sully leaned across to give her a kiss. The kiss grew deeper by the moment, and soon, Sully had pulled Michaela out of her chair and into his arms. They held each other as their kisses grew more impassioned. "Mmm," Michaela mumbled against his mouth. Sully pulled away from her lips for a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Not here!" she whispered with a laugh.

"Patients upstairs?" he asked, planting another kiss on her lips.

"No," she replied. Sully scooped her up in his arms and started up toward the recovery rooms. As Sully was starting up the first step, a shout from outside the clinic halted him in his tracks.

"Dr. Mike!" It was Grace! Sully put Michaela down and they both rushed out of the clinic to see what the commotion was about.

"Grace?" Michaela asked.

"You've gotta come quick! It's Myra!" Hank, who had come out of the saloon to find out what was going on, felt his heart skip a beat when Grace mentioned Myra's name in that frantic voice.

"What happened?" Michaela asked urgently.

"We were havin' lunch, and she just doubled over in pain! Somethin's wrong!" Michaela stepped into the clinic, grabbed her medical bag, and rushed across town with Grace. Sully and Hank were following closely behind.

Myra was slumped across the table at Grace's Café.

"Help me get her to the clinic," Michaela ordered. Sully picked the young woman up.

"Be careful with her," Hank begged in a desperate voice. Michaela looked at him and she thought she could see tears starting to form in his eyes. She had never, in the short time she had been in Colorado Springs, seen Hank Lawson shed one little tear over anyone. She knew he was in love.

Sully, Hank, Jake, Grace, Robert E., Dorothy, Loren, and even Horace were waiting outside of the clinic for word from Dr. Mike or Colleen. Horace made a point to stay as far away from Hank as he could, and Sully was keeping an eye on the both of them. Horace hated that Myra had broken off their courtship because she fell for Hank, but he knew that he couldn't just do nothing. He had to do something to let Myra know that he didn't hate her, and he figured that waiting for word from the doctor would be the first step.

"How long have they been in there?" Hank asked. "What if she's dyin'?"

"Dr. Mike's gonna take good care of her," Grace assured the man that she normally wouldn't speak to unless he was having a meal at her café.

"That woman better not go cuttin' on her," Hank warned.

"Myra might need surgery," Dorothy replied cautiously. "Michaela's a good doctor, and she'll make sure that nothin' happens to her."

"What's takin' so long?" Hank asked. Horace looked up and watched the man as he began to pace along the porch. He knew then that Hank cared for Myra. If Hank loved Myra and Myra loved Hank, what could Horace do? There was nothing he could do to get in the way of that, and he wanted Myra to be happy most of all. He figured that if he could accept that, he might start to feel a little better.

A few minutes passed and the door opened. Michaela stepped out with a look of worry on her face.

"What's wrong with her?" Hank asked. The rest of those waiting stood and looked at the doctor with concern in their eyes.

"Myra has a growth."

"A growth?" Loren asked. "What kind of a growth?" Michaela swallowed hard.

"I believe it's a tumor the size of a peach pit."

"What does that mean?" Horace asked nervously.

"It means that I'll have to operate, and if I have to, I'll need to remove the ovary it's on to reduce the risk of a relapse." She saw confused eyes staring in her direction. "In case the tumor is cancerous, I may have to remove the entire ovary."

"You're gonna take somethin' out of her?" Hank asked. "Will she live?"

"There are always risks, but there is a chance that she could be experiencing internal hemorrhaging due to the growth. I won't know until I operate, but the chances that she could die because of this growth are very high. If it is indeed cancerous, the sooner it's removed the better." Hank swallowed hard and he wasn't sure if he should believe what he was hearing. Myra couldn't die. He wasn't a praying man, but if he was, he'd pray to God not to take her away from him.

"Can I see her? Is she awake?" Hank asked, swallowing the lump in his throat.

"She's awake, but she's very tired due to the medication." Hank walked into the clinic. Colleen was standing at the operating table, preparing the instruments Dr. Mike had asked her to find.

"Sue's upstairs, Hank," Colleen said without having to ask him what he wanted. She pointed toward the door and he hurried upstairs to see Myra before her surgery.

When he stepped into her room, he saw that she was lying no her back with her hand over her stomach. She was in a gown Michaela had put on her for examination, and she looked so fragile. Her face was pale, and he could see that her breaths were quick and heavy.

"Myra," he whispered. Myra looked over at him and Hank could have sworn that a little of the color came back to her face. She smiled at him a little.

"Did Dr. Mike tell ya?"  
"There's a whole crowd of people out there worried about ya. The doc told us all what's wrong. Don't get mad at her, 'cause we probably woulda forced it out of her eventually." Myra chuckled a little. She reached out for Hank's hand, and he didn't mind when she squeezed it hard.

"Despite the problems we're havin', I'm glad you're here."

"There ain't no more problems," Hank replied.

"What?"

"When I heard what happened to ya, I felt like I was gonna lose ya, and I realized that you matter more to me than anything. First thing I'm gonna do once you get to feelin' better is let all the girls outta their contracts. I'll put 'em all on the next stagecoach to Denver so they can find other jobs."

"You mean it?" Myra asked. "You're really doin' this for me?" Tears welled in her eyes, and she bit back a cry.

"I mean it. I'll just start chargin' more for my whiskey." He winked at her and Myra chuckled.

"I do love you, Hank." Hank smiled and leaned down to press a kiss to Michaela's lips.

"I'm glad to hear that."

After Myra's surgery, Hank went to sit with her after hearing the news that she had survived the surgery. Michaela had to remove the ovary that was carrying the tumor, because it was a bit larger than she had expected. Luckily there seemed to be no sign of its spreading, and there had been no internal bleeding. Myra was a lucky young woman!

After the surgery, Sully and Michaela walked over to Grace's for dinner. Michaela informed Hank to let her know as soon as Myra woke up. She hoped the effects of the anesthesia would wear off within the next hour or so. After that happened, she knew Myra would be in a great deal of pain when she woke, so the doctor would need to be there to give her something for it.

Sully noticed that Michaela's thoughts were in another place as Grace brought a slice of pie for him and two for Michaela who was bound to be starving.

"Michaela? There's pie right in front of you and you ain't eatin' it. Are ya thinkin' 'bout Myra?"

"Hmm? Oh!" she realized that Sully had been speaking to her. "I'm sorry. It's been such a long day."

"Yeah. It sure has. You better eat to keep up your strength." Michaela started to take a bit of her dessert when she remembered something she had to tell Sully.

"Oh! I completely forgot!"

"About what?"

"I received a letter from mother and father today. They're supposed to arrive tomorrow on the stagecoach."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yes," Michaela replied with a sigh. "It's been a hectic day, and I was going to ask Brian if he'd mind moving into Matthew's room for awhile."

"Would they mind stayin' at the clinic? It's not that I don't want 'em to stay at the house, it's just that we've only got the baby's room as a spare room. I'm thinkin' that if our family grows anymore, I'm gonna have to add on to the house." Michaela smiled.

"Well, let's just focus on getting this one into the world before we start thinking about any more."

"You still want more, right?" Sully asked hopefully. Michaela smiled and nodded.

"Of course I do. I'm sure mother and father won't mind staying at the clinic."

"They ain't stayin' till the baby's born, are they?"

"I wouldn't be surprised," Michaela said with a laugh. "You don't mind them being here do you?"  
"Of course not. Your parents are great. It's just that it'd be nice to have a little privacy. With them at the house, it might be a little difficult for us to get some alone time at night. They'd be right across the hall."" Michaela smiled knowingly and the two continued to eat their dessert in silence. Sully couldn't help but thinking about their encounter at the clinic earlier before Myra's surgery. As he watched Michaela, her eyes met his. They both began to think about earlier, and Sully knew Michaela was thinking about it because her cheeks began to turn a little red.

Michaela quickly finished her dessert.

"You ready to go home?" The truth was plain on Michaela's face, but she knew she had to wait for Myra to wake.

"Yes," Michaela replied, "but I must wait for Myra to wake up." Sully swallowed hard and nodded.

"Alright. I'll go get the kids. They went fishin', so maybe by the time we get back to town, she'll be awake." Michaela nodded. She and Sully stood and kissed each other softly before leaving money on the table for Grace.

Michaela started off for the clinic while Sully went to the livery to get the wagon. When she arrived at the clinic, she found Hank just starting out the door.

"She's wakin' up," Hank said nervously. "She sounds like she's hurtin' awful badly."

"I'll get her some morphine for the pain." Hank nodded and walked back upstairs to hold Myra's hand while Michaela prepared the proper dosage.

That night, the children had all gone to bed, and Michaela was finishing the dishes. Sully was outside putting the wagon in the barn, which was quite a chore trying to fit it inside with the wagon the children had kept after Charlotte died.

After the dishes were dried and put away, Michaela sat down by the fire to get started on a christening gown she wanted to make for the baby. She knew it was a bit early, but she wanted to have it finished and out of the way before the baby came.

She started with the pieces she had already cut out a few days earlier, and before too long, her head lolled back onto the back of the chair and she fell asleep. When Sully came in from the barn, he saw Michaela sleeping soundly. He didn't want to wake her, but he knew that if he didn't, her back would be sore in the morning, and those mood swings would come into full effect, making life miserable for everyone around.

He knelt beside the chair and gently pulled the sewing materials out of his wife's beautiful hands. He put them aside and gently rubbed her belly.

"Michaela," he whispered.

"Hmm?" she asked gently, her eyes not daring to open.

"Come on up to bed."

"Mhm, in a minute," she whispered. "Just finishing some sewing." He knew she was completely out of it, and he had to laugh to himself.

"Come on," he whispered. He gently picked her up into his arms and carried her up to bed.


	7. Holly Tucker

**Chapter 7: Holly Tucker**

Sully and Michaela woke the children at dawn to get ready for the arrival of their grandparents. They couldn't wait to see Elizabeth and Josef again, and frankly, neither could Michaela and Sully. Sully respected Josef very much, and he enjoyed the chats he would have with his father-in-law. Michaela couldn't wait to see both of her parents, and she knew that as soon as her mother stepped off of the stagecoach, she would want to put her hands on her daughter's belly and make a big fuss over the expectant mother and her unborn child. Michaela didn't mind, because she knew her mother had been waiting years to be able to hold her first born grandchild, and although she thought of the Cooper children as her grandchildren, this child would be born of Quinn blood and it would be the first her daughter would give birth to.

As soon as the children's morning chores were done, Michaela instructed them to wash up and get dressed in clean clothes before they headed into town. While Sully went to hitch the wagon, Michaela sat down at the kitchen table and snuck in a few bites of pie she had stored from dinner the night before.

Pup bounded into the kitchen and put his paws on Michaela's lap, begging for food.

"Pup! Didn't Brian feed you?" The wolf pup, who was nearly as big as Wolf, wagged his tale and barked. "Brian?! Did you feed pup?"

"Yes!" Brian shouted down the stairs. Michaela shook her head, but when the dog continued to stare at her, she snuck him a small chunk of apple. The dog gobbled it up and hurried up the stairs to find Brian. Michaela chuckled to herself. She felt the baby start to kick, and she tenderly rubbed that spot on her belly with her finger.

"One of these days you won't be able to kick mama like that," Michaela said with a grin. The baby seemed to relax when Michaela would speak, and that made her feel good. She hoped that after the baby was born, her voice would have the same effect. She figured that soon, it would be good to get the children talking to the baby while it was still inside of her, and she knew that she'd have no problem with Sully since he talked to the baby every chance he could get.

"Dr. Mike?" Matthew asked as he came down the stairs.

"Yes?"

"Can I invite Ingrid to dinner tonight?"

"I don't see why not," Michaela responded with a smile.

"Thanks!" He hurried back upstairs to finish getting ready. Michaela loved seeing Matthew so happy, and she knew that one day, he would make a good husband to Ingrid, if she was indeed the girl he would continue to court until they were ready to marry.

"Michaela? The wagon's ready," Sully called from outside.

"Come along, children!" Michaela urged! A moment later, three pair of quick feet came rushing down the stairs. Everyone hurried out to the wagon and rode into town to greet Elizabeth and Josef on the morning stagecoach.

Brian hurried out of the mercantile with a pocket full of gumdrops, which Loren had snuck to him before Michaela could see them. He joined his family across the street where they were waiting for the stagecoach to pull in. It was about five minutes late, but Michaela wasn't concerned yet.

"You think grandpa will wanna go fishin'?" Brian asked as he tugged on Sully's arm.

"I'm sure he won't mind if ya ask him." Brian grinned and Sully picked him up and let him sit on his shoulders. Brain grabbed Matthew's hat off of his head and put it on.

"Hey!"

"Now I'm taller than you!" Brian said with a proud grin. Matthew rolled his eyes and swiped his hat back. The two brothers laughed, but grew silent when they heard the rattling of wheels and the beats of horse hooves. As soon as the stagecoach rounded the corner, Sully put Brian down and the boy ran to greet his grandparents. Sully hurried over as soon as the drivers halted the coach. The door opened and Elizabeth held her hand out. Sully helped her down.

"Mrs. Quinn," he said with a smile.

"Hello Sully!" She gave him a big hug and her eyes immediately scanned the crowd for her daughter.

"Hello mother," Michaela called out with a big smile.

"Michaela!" Elizabeth hurried over to hug her daughter as Sully helped Josef out of the stagecoach. Elizabeth's hands immediately went to her daughter's belly as soon as she finished hugging her. "My my my! You're already showing quite a bit! I'm surprised! I wasn't that big with you until I was in my early sixth month!"

"Thanks mother," Michaela mumbled.

"Oh, I'm not saying anything negative, now. You look beautiful." The mother and daughter hugged again.

"Sully! How are you son?" Josef asked as he and Sully shook hands and embraced.

"Couldn't be better Dr. . . I mean Josef."

"That's my boy," Josef said, patting him on the back. "Where are those grandchildren of mine?" The kids all hurried to greet their grandfather. A woman's dainty hand poked out of the stagecoach, and Horace, who had been standing in the crowd, reached out and helped the young woman out of the coach. Horace was speechless from the moment he saw her. She was beautiful! Her hair was light brown and it was hanging down past her bottom. Her skin was lightly tanned from the sun, so Horace immediately knew she was in the sun a lot. Her eyes were as blue as the sky, and her lips were lightly painted with a fine natural pink.

"Thank you, sir," she said as she planted her feet firmly on the ground. Her dress was as plain as any ordinary lady's dress, but somehow on her, it looked more beautiful.

"I . . . it was my pleasure, ma'am." As Josef Quinn went to make a fuss over his daughter, the rest of the crowd turned to the new lady in town.

"Welcome to Colorado Springs," Dorothy greeted the lady. "Are ya here long?"

"Hopefully!" the young woman said happily. She extended a hand to Dorothy. "The name's Holly Tucker. I'm from Georgia."

"Well, you've sure traveled a long way," Grace said with a smile, hoping that just because the woman was from Georgia didn't mean that she was for slavery." She was pleasantly surprised when the woman turned to her and gave her a big smile.

"It was a wonderful journey! I loved the view the whole way here. I had wonderful company as well." She smiled at Josef and Elizabeth. Horace continued to stare at the beautiful young woman. His heart practically skipped a beat when he heard that mild southern drawl.

"Sure didn't take ya long to get over Myra, did it?" Hank asked as he leaned over to whisper to Horace. Horace snapped out of his daze and looked at the man who was now courting the woman he loved.

"Shut up, Hank." Horace stalked off toward the telegraph office. Holly couldn't help but stare after him.

"Welcome to Colorado Springs, Miss Tucker," Michaela said with a smile, extending her hand to the pleasant stranger.

"Thank you!"

"Dr. Michaela Quinn." Holly's eyes went wide.

"So you're the Dr. Quinn I've heard so much about in the last three days?" Holly asked, looking at the doctor's parents. Michaela blushed and Josef laughed.

"Don't worry, Mike. We only told her good things." The remaining crowd laughed.

"There wouldn't happen to be a nice restaurant to eat at would there?" Holly asked after she felt her stomach growl.

"Miss Grace has the best cookin' in town," Colleen suggested. She pointed at Grace. Holly smiled warmly.

"Well, I would sure like to try the 'best cookin' in town.'"

"Ma? Can we go eat breakfast at Grace's?" Brian asked, wanting to find out more about the new lady in town.

"That sounds wonderful. I'm starving," Michaela admitted. Elizabeth laughed happily and rubbed her daughter's protruding belly.

"Of course," she whispered to Josef. The proud parents followed their daughter and her family toward Grace's as they walked with Miss Tucker.

"What brings you to Colorado Springs, Miss Tucker?" Michaela asked as waited patiently for her order.

"Well, my father owned a plantation," she began, "but I was practically raised by one of his servants. I don't like the word 'slave.' Anyway, once slavery ended, my father took sick, and he wanted me to take over the plantation since I was the oldest of my sisters and we didn't have brothers. I told him I wouldn't take the plantation because of all of the horrible things that happened there. My father thought I was crazy for being an abolitionist living on a plantation."

"It must've been very hard on you."

"It was. I grew up with a respect for all people because I was being taken care of by a Negro servant. My mother died when I was quite young, and my father didn't have time for me, so he ordered her to look after me. She taught me respect, and I'm grateful to her for that."

"You'll get along with the doc then," Hank said with a chuckle. "I don't suppose you like Injuns too."

"I've never met an Indian before," Holly admitted. "But I've always found them fascinating. I never really believed all of the horror stories I've heard, because I wasn't there to witness any of those so-called crimes in person." Michaela smiled.

"You should meet our friend Cloud Dancing." Holly nodded.

"I would like to very much!"

"You really didn't answer the question of why you came here," Dorothy replied, scribbling something down on a piece of paper. She blushed. "Sorry. I print a small gazette once a week, and I was going to do a little article on you. Is that alright?"

"By all means," Holly replied with a laugh. "I'm sorry I forgot to answer the main reason I came out here! I'm a school teacher, and I heard that Colorado Springs was building a new school and was in need of a teacher." Loren looked at Jake.

"We sure are," Jake said with a nod.

"Then I'm glad I came here," Holly replied with a smile. The townsmen began to talk with her, but Hank left the café. Michaela knew he was going to visit Myra, and she couldn't help but smile.

"Michaela?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes mother?"

"Brian was just telling me that you were asking him to move into Matthew's room."

"Well," Michaela began.

"Don't think anything of it. Your father and I were already planning to stay in your clinic. We feel better knowing that we're close to town. Perhaps right before the baby comes, we'll move into the house, but for now, we're content to stay at the clinic until we decide on where we're going to live."

"What do you mean?" Sully asked, taking a bite of a biscuit.

"Josef and I have decided to move to Colorado Springs!" Michaela's eyes went wide and she glanced at Sully. Sully reached under the table and took her hand in his, squeezing it gently.

"You're moving to Colorado Springs?"

"Yes," Josef replied with a nod. "It was Elizabeth's idea, but the fresh mountain air seems to do me a lot of good. I feel better when I'm here."

"You're sure about this?" Michaela asked, not sure what it was going to be like having her parents around three hundred sixty-five days a year.

"We sure are," Elizabeth replied with a nod. "Your father is also going to help you out at the clinic once you get into your later months. You'll need all the rest you can get, and with your father here, you won't have to worry about your patients." Michaela had to admit to herself that it would be nice to work with her father again.

"But, father, you gave up your practice."

"That doesn't meant I'm not a qualified doctor. I'll be here for you when you need me, Mike. But if I start to step on your toes, please let me know, because I don't intend to."

"You're gonna be here for good?" Brian asked.

"Yes, Brian," Josef replied with a grin.

"Will ya come fishin' with me?"

"If you can find a fishing pole for me, we can go right now."

"Can we, ma?" Brian asked hopefully.

"You haven't finished your breakfast."

"I ain't very hungry."

"I'll make a big lunch at home to celebrate later," Colleen promised.

"Why don't all three of you come fishing?" Josef asked. "Matthew, Colleen? Would you like to join us?"

"I don't mind," Michaela said with a shrug.

"Have fun," Sully said with a laugh. The children eagerly took off with Josef toward the homestead to get fishing equipment.

"Michaela, if we've upset you by deciding to move here, we're sorry. We just want to be closer to you and the children. Your sisters are already settled into marriage and family life. You and Sully are just getting started, and we want to be here to help you."

"I understand, mother," Michaela said with a nod. "It's wonderful that you want to be closer to us, but you really don't need to move all the way out here." The truth was that she didn't want to feel like she was being watched at every moment of the day.

"Why don't we get your things to the clinic, and we'll go from there?" Sully suggested.

"That would be wonderful. I would like to freshen up." Sully, Loren, and Jake helped tote Josef and Elizabeth's belongings over to the clinic. They had brought a lot more with them than they had before, but this time was because it was permanent.

As soon as Elizabeth was settled into a room at the clinic, Michaela and Sully met each other downstairs. Sully knew Michaela was having mixed feelings about her parents deciding to move to Colorado Springs.

"You feelin' alright?" he asked, pulling her into his arms. Michaela rested her head on his shoulder and sighed heavily.

"I suppose so. I never figured mother would ever want to move out here. I know father's coming out here to help, and I don't even need help right now. Sully, every time I turn around, they're going to be right there! I'm going to feel as if I have someone constantly in my shadow."

"Why don't ya tell 'em?"

"I couldn't do that," she replied, walking over to stare out the window. "I know they think they're helping, but they are my parents and they think what they're doing is good for me. I was doing just fine without their help." Sully joined Michaela at the window.

"If you want, I can talk to them for you."

"No, don't do that. I appreciate the thought, but I'm sure everything will be fine in a few days." She looked at the time and knew it was time to give Myra a small dose of Morphine. She ascended the stairs with a syringe full of the medication. When she arrived in Myra's room, she found the young woman sitting up in bed.

"Myra? You should be resting."

"My back was hurtin', Dr. Mike. I had to sit up for a little while."

"I've come with some pain medication."

"I don't need it," Myra said, shaking her head.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm feelin' better. I'm sore, but it'll pass."

"If you're sure," Michaela replied uneasily. Myra nodded.

"I never did thank you for savin' my life."

"It was a simple procedure."

"Yeah, but without it, I coulda died." Michaela put her hand against Myra's forehead. "Hank and I are finally courtin'."

"That's good news," Michaela said with a smile.

"Yeah. He's givin' up the saloon girls because he says I'm more important." Michaela felt relieved to heart that. Perhaps being in a relationship was going to have a good effect on Hank. Michaela could only hope so!

"Why don't you get some rest?" Michaela asked. "I'll be downstairs if you need me. Just call for my mother."

"Your ma's here?"

"Yes. She and my father have apparently decided that they are going to move to Colorado Springs."

"You don't sound too happy about that?"

"I'm happy to see them again, yes, but I came to Colorado Springs because the people here were in desperate need of a doctor. I also came because I needed to live my own life. With my parents so close, it's going to be difficult to have any privacy."

"I understand," Myra said with a sympathetic smile. "But it ain't that bad, is it?"

"I suppose not," Michaela replied. "My father is going to help out once I need to cut back on my work days. It'll be nice to work with him again, and it'll be nice to have mother and father close for the children's sakes. They're going to buy land and have a house built. They already told me they don't want to step on my toes, but I have the feeling that once this baby gets here, mother's going to think I have absolutely no idea how to raise a child."

"Do you?"

"Well, I haven't had any experience with children until I brought Charlotte's children to live with me. The only babies I've interacted with were patients, and I never had to change a diaper or feed them. It's going to be a whole new experience, but I don't want my mother to be there telling me everything I need to do. Sully and I want to raise our children in our own way, and I'm afraid that mother will try to interfere."

"You should talk to her, Dr. Mike."

"Perhaps it would be best to talk to her now instead of later." Myra smiled. "Thank you for listening me. I didn't mean to trouble you."

"It's nice to have someone to talk to, so don't worry about it."

"You should get some rest." Myra nodded and Michaela left the room. She took a deep breath and walked into her mother's room. Elizabeth was sitting in a chair next to the balcony, looking out at the town. "Mother?"

"Oh! I'm sorry, Michaela. I didn't hear you come in." Michaela walked over to sit on the bed. Elizabeth watched her daughter fidget nervously. "Is something the matter?"

"I need to speak with you about something before it happens."

"Oh?" Elizabeth stood and walked over to sit down beside her daughter. "What is it?"

"Mother, I know you want to be involved in my life and the children's, but I need to tell you that Sully and I will be raising our children as we see fit."

"I know that," Elizabeth replied.

"You should know that I don't want you to tell me how to take care of my children. I would appreciate a few suggestions when the baby comes, and maybe a helping hand, but please don't try to take over."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Elizabeth replied.

"Mother, you liked to get involved in things that aren't your concern, and I . . ."

"Where do you think you get it from?" Elizabeth asked.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Michaela, you have always been known for getting involved in other affairs, and I know very well that you get that from me. But I've already promised myself that I wouldn't get in your way. The reason I want to be here is because your father and I are happier together when we're here. When we're in Boston, we end up arguing over things that aren't important. Being out here makes us both feel younger and more alive. We love being with our grandchildren, because they keep us on our toes. I must say that being out here had improved our marriage."

"It has?" Michaela asked with wonder in her eyes.

"Yes," Elizabeth confirmed with a chuckle. "Besides, your father told me that if I even try to get in the way once this baby's born, he's taking me right back to Boston." Michaela laughed.

"I'm glad to hear your thoughts on all of this, mother. I am very happy you and father are here to help out. I'm going to be very nervous, well, I am already nervous about this baby, and I could use any kind of help during this time. I think having you and father around will make it easier for the children to adjust to having a new sibling."

"We'll do everything we can, Michaela," Elizabeth promised. She yawned and covered her hand with her mouth. "I believe I would like to take a nap. It's been a dreadfully long journey."

"Alright. I'll be downstairs. Myra is right down the hall, so if she calls for me and I don't hear, would you please come let me know?"

"I will," Elizabeth promised. Michaela gave her mother a hug before she retreated out of the room and down the stairs.

Sully was sitting at Michaela's desk, waiting for her to finish up with Myra. He was wondering what was taking her so long, but when he saw her come into the room, he smiled.

"How's Myra?"

"She's doing fine," Michaela replied. She looked different somehow, as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Michaela sensed Sully was curious about her newly refreshed state. "I spoke with my mother."

"Good," Sully replied with a smile. "And?"

"We came to an understanding. She promised not to get in the way. She told me that father threatened to take her back to Boston if she gets in the way once the baby's born." Sully laughed.

"That sounds like Josef." Michaela put her hand on her back. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah. My back is getting a little sore. Mother's right."

"About?"

"I'm much bigger than many women at this month." She sighed and tears came to her eyes. "I'm fat!" Sully chuckled a little, knowing Michaela couldn't see how beautiful she was at this moment. "How dare you laugh at me while I'm carrying your child! You did this to me!" She began to bawl and Sully swallowed hard.

"You're beautiful, Michaela. You're not fat. You're pregnant."

"I'm fat!" she protested. "I could barely fit into my dress this morning! I'm going to have to take all of my dresses out and . . ."

"Michaela, calm down," Sully whispered, pressing a kiss to her lips. "I love you, and I think that you're the most beautiful woman to ever walk this earth. If it's possible, you're even more beautiful when you're pregnant, because you're carrying a life inside of you. It's a life we both created, and when September comes, that life is gonna be here."

"And I won't be fat anymore?" Michaela asked, sniffling. Sully was coming to enjoy the mood swings in which she became weepy. He loved holding her and reassuring her."

"Right," he replied. Michaela looked at him.

"So you agree that I look fat now?" She grinned at him, and he knew the mood swing had passed.

"Like I said. You look beautiful." He kissed her and held her close. As they held one another, the baby began to kick. Sully could feel it as Michaela's belly pressed against him. They both pulled apart and started to laugh. "See, the baby agrees." Michaela laughed and she and Sully joined hands.

"I'm so lucky to have you."

"I'm luckier," he replied.

"Even though your pregnant wife is weepy and moody?" Sully nodded and gave her another kiss.

"That makes me love you all the more."


	8. Getting Away

Chapter 8: Getting Away 

By the middle of May, Michaela found that her belly was expanding more and more each week, she was starting to find it uncomfortable to sleep in any position in bed, and when she did get to sleep, she would be woken up by the baby's constant kicking. She felt as if there was a whole army marching around inside of her. Sully was doing what he could to make his wife comfortable, including rubbing her feet at night, giving her back massages, and making her herbal tea so she could relax in the evening. Michaela couldn't believe how miserable her nights were, and she was only in her fifth month.

She was thankful that the nausea had gone away, but that had been replaced by the backaches, the sore feet, and the slowly swelling ankles. Sully, however, was having a wonderful time watching his wife's belly grow, talking to the baby, and preparing the new cradle. Michaela had finished the christening gown, and Sully's project for the baby, the new cradle, was all finished except for the final finish he was going to paint on as soon as he could get time to buy the material.

The children had been helping out, at their grandmother's encouragement. Colleen was helping Michaela at the clinic more often, trying to keep things tidy. School had started a week ago, so after school everyday, she would come to help her mother out. Brian would go home with Matthew, who had decided to attend at least a year of schooling, to clean out the stables and do other chores around the house.

Josef, too, had been helping out. He had been assisting with surgeries which would require Michaela to stand for long periods of time. He would take over Michaela's work if her feet or back started to hurt too badly. She didn't like to admit when she was uncomfortable because she didn't like to feel dependent. But the truth of the matter was that she wasn't as able to do everything on her own when she was pregnant. She couldn't button her own dresses up in the mornings. Sully would help her with those little things. She wasn't able to ride a horse anymore because of the baby. She loved being pregnant, but she hated feeling handicapped because she couldn't do a lot of the things she could do before she got pregnant.

"Michaela? Are you ready to go home?" Sully asked as he walked into the clinic. He found Michaela lying on a cot which Josef had put up for her. Josef was sitting at his daughter's desk.

"She's had a long day," Josef whispered. "She delivered a baby and removed a spleen."

"I'm gonna take her home," Sully explained. Josef nodded.

"Go on ahead. Colleen will be along from school shortly. She'll help me clean up."

"Thanks," Sully replied, nodding his appreciation. He knelt down next to Michaela and put his hands on her belly. She felt his hands and smiled knowingly. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and she smiled even wider when she saw her husband.

"You ready to go?"

"It's still early."

"You're real tired. You should get home to a comfortable bed." Michaela sat up slowly.

"Go on, Mike," Josef urged. "I can take care of things here." Michaela sighed. She appreciated having her father there so she didn't have to worry about her patients, but she still felt inadequate because she couldn't be there for everyone all day.

"Perhaps it would do me some good to rest." Sully took Michaela's hand and helped her up. Sully was amazed. He couldn't believe how big Michaela's belly was getting. He knew that Michaela was trying her best to only eat healthy food for her sake and the baby's, but her belly was still getting very large. Her belly was at least twice the size Abagail's was at this time of the pregnancy, but then again, Abagail had been much shorter than Michaela. He wasn't sure if that really had anything to do with it, but he always tried to say things to make Michaela feel good about her changing body.

As they were on their way to the homestead, Michaela sighed heavily as her hands rested on her belly.

"You feelin' alright?"

"Yes. I feel fine despite the back pain and the fact that I nearly pulled a muscle trying to get out of bed this morning." Sully shook his head and looked at his wife for a moment. The sunlight was shining down on her, and he could see that she was thoroughly happy despite her discomfort.

"Well, just think, in a few months, you won't have to feel like this anymore."

"Yeah," Michaela said with a dry laugh. "Then I'll get to go through labor."

"You'll be alright."

"I'll need to send for Dr. Bernard."

"You want him to deliver the baby?"

"Yes. I trust him completely."

"Good," Sully replied with a smile.

"Sully?"

"Hmm?"

"Will you be there?  
"What do ya mean?"

"It's not something common. I know most fathers are asked to wait outside while their wives are giving birth, but if I can talk Dr. Bernard into it, which I'm sure I can, will you stay with me?" Sully swallowed hard and stopped the wagon.

"You want me to be there with our baby's born?"

"Yes. I do. I don't want to do it alone." He could see the fear in her eyes, and he took her hand in his. His other hand moved to caress her belly.

"There's nothing I want more than to be there when the life we created is born into this world." Michaela smiled and Sully gave her a reassuring kiss." He could tell she was tense, but she relaxed at his touch. He pulled away from her and smiled.

"The boys won't be home for an hour."

"Sully! I don't . . ."

"What?"

"How could you want to be with me when I look like this?" Sully tilted Michaela's chin up so she could look into his eyes and see the truth.

"How many times do I gotta tell ya? You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. You are perfect in every way, and there's no way I could ever stop wanting to be with you." Michaela practically melted at Sully's words. Her husband put a loving arm around her as they continued on towards home.

As husband and wife lay in each other's arms in the afterglow of their lovemaking, Michaela felt more comfortable than she had felt in weeks. Sully's hand was caressing her back, and his touch seemed to make all of the aches and pains go away.

"I can't believe how incredibly busy I've been," Michaela whispered as her fingers traced invisible circles on her husband's chest.

"Why don't we take a trip?"

"A trip?" Michaela asked quickly.

"Yeah, why not?"

"Well, I can give you five reasons off of the top of my head."

"Why don't we? You've been so busy, and most of all, you're carryin' my baby. I think you deserve a few days away."

"We can't just leave the children."

"They're stayin' with your folks at the clinic."

"You've already suggested this to them?"

"Yeah. They thought it was a good idea. Your pa is lookin' forward to lookin' after the clinic alone for a few days anyway."

"Where will we go?"

"That's a surprise," Sully replied with a grin.

"When will we leave?" Michaela asked, loving the sound of Sully's plan even more by the moment."

"How's right now?"

"Now?!" Michaela sat up quickly.

"Yeah. The boys are actually stayin' in town. They'll be out later to clean out the stables. Your ma and pa promised that we'd get some alone time since you've been so busy."

"Sully, you never cease to amaze me."

"You told me that on our wedding day."

"You remember?"

"Of course I remember," Sully replied with a smile. He kissed her hand and got out of bed. Michaela started to get out of bed when she cried out in pain.

"Oh!"

"What is it? Is it the baby?" he asked.

"No," she replied breathlessly. "Leg cramp." Sully breathed a sigh of relief and knelt down next to the bed to massage the cramp out of Michaela's leg. It was then that Michaela knew that Sully really did think she was beautiful and that he would go to the ends of the earth to make her happy.

Sully and Michaela had ridden in the wagon for a while until they reached a bridge. Sully helped Michaela down and unhitched the horses from the wagon.

"Won't someone take the wagon?" Michaela asked curiously.

"Nope. Nobody ever comes out here." He took both of the horses by the reigns, and helped Michaela walk across the bridge. As he led the horses, he kept an eye on Michaela. He knew it wasn't a very long walk and that it wouldn't take long to get there, but it had taken them hours to ride out in the wagon. He loved the place he was taking Michaela, and he couldn't wait to show her the secret he had never told anyone about. "You feelin' up to walkin' much more?"

"I feel great," Michaela said with a smile. What made her feel so much better was the fact that she was out in the middle of nowhere with the man she loved. She trusted him with her life, and she knew that whatever he had planned was going to be great. She inhaled the wonderful smell of the mountain air. She heard the sound of water running.

"Is there a river up here?"

"There's a small creek," he replied. But once they stepped off of the trail, Michaela gasped at the amazing sight before her. There was a small cottage with a chimney protruding from the roof. A barn sat off to the side. Running alongside and behind it was a small creek, and the entire area was surrounded by beautiful tall pine trees.

"Oh Sully!" she exclaimed.

"I've never told anyone about this place before. Until you." He squeezed her hand and she began to cry. He knew they were happy tears.

"Sully, this is so breathtaking," she replied. "How long have you had this place?"

"I built it before I met Abagail," he replied.

"You never brought her out here?"

"Nope," he replied. "We didn't really have time to go out walkin' and stuff. Soon after we married, she got pregnant, and we were busy getting ready for the baby."

"When was the last time you came out here?"

"I would say three years, but I'd be lyin'. I came out here earlier today to clean up."

"Sully, promise me that we'll bring our baby out here too."

"We will. Someday, the whole family will come stay out here for awhile to get away from everything." Michaela smiled and they started down toward the quaint cottage. Sully picked Michaela up into his arms, letting her know without words that he didn't think she was fat or too heavy. He carried her over the threshold of the cottage and she was amazed at what she found inside. There was a beautifully decorated table in front of a dormant fireplace. In the center of the table was a silver cup filled with beautiful colorful wildflowers. Another door led to a large bedroom with a big bed in the corner. The cottage looked much larger on the inside than it did on the outside. It was perfect!

"Sully, can you see the sun set from here?"

"Yep, we sure can. But before you watch the sunset, I want you to get into bed and rest."

"Sully, I'm fine."

"I feel bad about draggin' ya out here, but I needed you to be here with me. Now I want you and the baby to rest."

"Alright," Michaela replied with a laugh. She walked over and sat down on the comfortable bed. She pulled her medical bag up onto the bed with her. She could feel a lot of activity in her belly, and she wondered how the baby was doing today. She found a comfortable position on top of the covers as Sully piled some logs into the fireplace to make a fire.

She pulled her stethoscope out of her medical bag and put the earpieces in her ears. She began to listen for the baby's heartbeat and smiled as soon as she could detect it. She knew all was well, and she felt something nudge her side from the inside. She put her hand over that area and chuckled.

"What is it?" Sully asked, walking over and sitting down on the bed beside Michaela.

"Give me your hand," she said with a laugh. She took his hand and placed it where he could feel the tiny bump.

"Is that a foot?"

"I believe so," she said with a grin.

"The baby must be happy to be here too," he concluded.

"I believe so," Michaela agreed. She listened for the baby's heartbeat a little more, and when she was content, she put her medical bag and stethoscope away. She dozed off a few minutes later, and Sully pulled a blanket over her. He watched as a smile crept over her in her sleep. He loved watching her when she was so relaxed, because she looked so happy and at peace. He wished there was a way to capture this moment forever, because he knew that as the months wore on, there would be fewer of these little moments, at least until the baby arrived.

In order to give Michaela some peace and quiet, Sully walked out to sit on the back porch. He looked off into the forest and sighed happily. In the morning, he was going to take Michaela to another special place not too far from the cottage. He knew she would love it, and he thought they could spend the day there.

"Sully?" he heard a few minutes later. He figured the baby had woken her up again. Sully walked inside to see Michaela sitting up in bed.

"What is it?"

"The baby is moving a lot. It just woke me up again." She sighed and chuckled a little. "I hope this little one wears itself out by nighttime. Maybe I can get some sleep tonight." Sully climbed onto the bed to sit with her, and he pulled her into his arms.

"Maybe if I hold ya, the baby will go to sleep and you can get some rest."

"I don't know," she replied. "I think it likes to hear our voice, so it kicks until we talk to it." Sully laughed and put a hand on Michaela's belly.

"Hey kiddo," he said with a proud grin. "Your ma's tryin' to rest. Why don't ya go to sleep so she can?"

"Well, I do know that as long as our baby's kicking, everything's alright."

"That's true," Sully replied. "Just think, Michaela. You've got four more months left of this, and then our baby will be here. It's so hard believe that one minute, there's a life inside of you, and the next it's out in the world, cryin' and meetin' its parents for the first time."

"It'll truly be a miracle," Michaela whispered with a yawn. "Thank you for giving me this gift."

"If anyone's to think, it's you. You're the one doin' all the work." Michaela leaned into Sully's arms, and the tired mother-to-be finally fell into a deep relaxing sleep.


	9. Romance in the Falls

Chapter 9: Romance in the Falls 

Michaela woke to the smell of food cooking. Sully had brought supplies to cook with for the next few days, and he intended to do all of the cooking and keep Michaela off of her feet as much as possible. They had a small walk to a special place that morning, but it wasn't a long walk at all.

"Mornin'," Sully greeted his wife. She got out of bed and stretched her tired and aching muscles.

"Good morning," she said with a smile. Sully walked over to greet her with a tender kiss. "Breakfast smells wonderful." Sully pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit down.

"I hope it tastes alright. My cookin' ain't as good as Colleen's."

"Well, I'm sure it's better than mine," Michaela replied with a laugh. "I'm afraid we'd be out of luck if you didn't know how to cook." Michaela winced.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. The baby's kicking hard today."

"Probably hungry."

"Mmm," she mumbled, running her fingers through her hair. Sully sat down across from his wife and they began to eat breakfast. Michaela could hardly concentrate on her food due to the constant movement inside of her belly. Her hand continuously rubbed her belly gently, happy that her baby was active and healthy.

"Michaela, you gotta eat."

"I know, I'm sorry." She took another bite.

"It ain't that bad, is it?"

"Huh? Oh! No, it's fine, Sully. I'm just thinking about a lot of things."

"Like what?"

"I'm thinking about the baby, the children, and the clinic."

"Don't be frettin'," Sully whispered. "Everything's fine. I brought ya out here to get away from it all. You deserve a break." Michaela smiled gratefully at her husband before she finished off the rest of her breakfast and what Sully couldn't finish of his own.

As soon as the table had been cleared, Sully let Michaela put on a different dress as he went outside to make sure the path was clear for walking.

As Michaela was dressing, she looked down at her bare belly and saw a little bulge form as the baby kicked her and kept its little foot in place. She gently rubbed that area and the baby moved again. She laughed, loving the feeling of having this little life moving around inside of her. Of course it wasn't so precious at night when she was trying to sleep, but when she wasn't trying to sleep, it seemed like the best thing in the world.

"You must be doing somersaults in there, little one," Michaela whispered as she proceeded to slip into her dress. She tried hopelessly to do up the buttons in the back, but she knew Sully would end up doing it for her, so there was no use in tiring herself out.

She sat down on the edge of the bed and slipped into some comfortable shoes. No shoes were comfortable, but these were the ones that supported her and left her feet aching less at the end of the day.

Sully walked in and smiled when he saw his wife sitting with her dress back open, waiting for him to come fasten it up. He walked over and sat down behind her to do up the buttons. When he was finish he stood and extended his hand.

"Ready to go?"

"Go where?"

"You'll see," he uttered with a grin. Michaela sighed and smiled, her eyes glistening happily. She grabbed her medical bag just in case, took his hand, and they started out on the warm May morning. They walked down a path near the creek, and Michaela was surprised when she and Sully came to a beautiful grassy cliff. Sully stopped and squeezed Michaela's hand.

"This is it?" She was surprised because they had only walked for a few minutes.

"Yep," Sully answered with a nod. Sully pointed over beside the cliff. There was a large fur blanket spread out in the grass, but that wasn't the most eye-catching part. There was a beautiful waterfall with a rock bed full of water. The water flowed into the rock bed and over into a lake below.

"Oh Sully, it's beautiful," she whispered, tears sparkling in her eyes.

"When I first built this cottage, I saw this waterfall, and I put up that little dam and dug a whole, linked it with rocks, and made it into a little bath.

"A very cold bath," Michaela replied with a laugh. "And wouldn't you be afraid you'd go over the cliff?"

"Nah," Sully replied. "See, the waterfall is perfect there because the cliff ain't steep over there. It slides down at a very angled slope, so it ain't dangerous. Besides, you ain't gonna fall out."

"Me?"

"Let's give it a try."

"Sully! I can't! I don't have anything to wear in there, and I don't want to get my dress wet," Michaela protested.

"Nobody's around. Nobody's gonna see," Sully replied. "Ain't no need for clothes. Sully stripped out of his clothes and jumped in. Michaela laughed at her husband's enthusiasm. She shook her head and nervously looked around.

"Come on," he urged, holding his hand out. The water's great."

"You mean it's freezing. Your child isn't going to appreciate this."

"Our baby's nice and warm inside of ya. Besides, I'll keep ya warm." Michaela blushed and finally let herself get talked into stripping down and stepping into the water.

"Oh!" she cried out. The water was cold, but Sully pulled her in, catching her in his arms. She laughed as she made a giant splash. She was surprised to find that the water came up to her chest. Sully had really been thinking when he built this. It was wonderful! She adjusted to the coolness of the water once Sully pulled her into his arms and began to kiss the nape of her neck. Michaela soon melted in the arms of her husband, and they spent the rest of the morning making love.

Michaela had dressed herself, and she was lying on the large blanket Sully had laid out next to the waterfall. She felt wonderful, and she was amazed at how good Sully could make her feet. She loved him even more with each day, and she knew that she would never love him any less.

Sully was over at the stream, catching fish for lunch. He was letting Michaela rest, because he knew that she had had a very intense morning so far. But, he knew she felt wonderful, and he did too.

Michaela sat up and felt her baby kicking again. It seemed to be moving around even more than it was earlier, and she hoped that the baby would sleep more after it was born than it did while it was inside of her. It sure didn't seem to know the word 'sleep' very well.

She grabbed her medical bag, as she seemed to do most every morning, and pulled out her stethoscope to assure herself that all was well. She could tell by the baby's movements that it was fine, but she still liked to listen to her baby's heartbeat. It seemed to relax her.

She listened for the heartbeat, and just as she was about to put it away, she recognized something else. There was a faint sound of another beating heart! Her breath caught in her throat and she wondered if that was the sound of her own heartbeat with her child's, or if it was the faint sound of another baby's heartbeat.

"Sully!" she cried out. "Sully!" Sully, hearing his wife's calls, started over from the stream, thinking something had gone wrong. He began to worry that their making love had hurt the baby in some way. He rushed to her side and knelt down on the blanket. He saw Michaela with the stethoscope and he immediately began to wonder if perhaps the baby's heart had stopped beating.

"Michaela? What is it?" Sully asked quickly. Michaela swallowed hard and looked at him with wide eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Sully, you have to listen to this. Tell me what you think." Sully sat down beside Michaela, and Michaela put the earpieces in his ears. She put the stethoscope on her belly and he listened intently. "What do you hear?"

"I hear the baby's heart beatin' fine." He put his hand on her knee and rubbed it reassuringly. Michaela moved the instrument a little to the other side and stared at him.

"I hear the baby's heartbeat," he replied. A look of confusion fell over his face. "What's that? Is that your heartbeat?"

"I don't know," she replied. "It's possible that it's the sound of my own heartbeat, but . . . Sully, I think there's another baby in there."

"What? You think it's twins?"

"I don't know. I suppose it could be! It would explain the fact that there is constant movement all throughout my belly. Maybe that's because there isn't just one in there. It would also explain the early protrusion of my belly. I was showing very early in my pregnancy. It could be a coincidence, Sully, but I think there's a very real possibility that we're having two babies." Sully felt faint, suddenly, and he wasn't' sure if he was dreaming or not. "Sully?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her with a gaping mouth and the earpieces still clinging to his ears. Michaela took the stethoscope from him and put her hands on either side of his face.

"Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"Yeah, I think so," he replied. "Two babies, huh?"

"Possibly," Michaela said with a sparkle in her eyes. "I know it sounds scary, but if it's true, Sully, we need to start preparing!"

"We'll you're the doctor! You gotta know for sure! You check again," Sully said urgently. Michaela nodded and took the stethoscope and used it on herself. She listened to the two beats, and she realized that the two beats were much faster than her own heartbeat. She hadn't taken time to think about it before, but now that she was concentrating, she knew for sure. She looked up at Sully and took his hands in hers.

"Sully, we're having twins!"

"Mornin' Miss Tucker," Grace said as Holly walked into the café. The children were out of school for the rest of the day due to the fact that several of the students were out to help their parents at home, so she decided to stop by and get some of Grace's wonderful cooking. Holly smiled when she saw Horace sitting alone. She hadn't spoken with him since the day she arrived in town, because she had been so very busy, but she decided that it was time she got to know him.

"Mind if I sit here?" Holly asked. At the simple sound of her voice, Horace felt his breath catch in his chest. He nodded.

"Sure," he replied. She sat down across from him and smiled.

"Mr. Bing, isn't it?"

"Horace," he replied with a nod.

"You can call me Holly." Horace smiled at her, and she smiled back. There was something in Horace's eyes that seemed so very loving and soft. She couldn't help but smile.

"How are things at the school?" Horace asked.

"Great! The students are wonderful for the most part. I absolutely adore the Cooper children. Brian, Colleen, and Matthew are all very bright!"

"Here they come now," Horace pointed out.

"Mornin' Miss Tucker," Colleen said with a smile.

"Good morning! Are you enjoying your morning off of school?"

"Yeah. We're getting ready to go fishin' down at Willow Creek."

"You wanna come?" Brian asked. Holly grinned.

"I would, but I'm having a conversation with Horace. Maybe some other time."

"Alright," Brian replied. "Come on Matthew. Let's go fishin'."

"Don't forget! I'm comin' too," Colleen said, crossing her arms across her chest. Brian laughed and the children hurried off.

Two men sitting behind Holly and Horace watched the children rush off.

"That's them?" the older man with a scruffy beard asked.

"Yeah. It's gotta be. It ain't no coincidence," the younger, clean-shaven man replied.

"We'll let 'em get to the creek, and then they're ours," the other replied. The two men threw money down on the table and started off to follow the Cooper children.

"You're sure?" Sully asked.

"I'm positive," Michaela replied. She took Sully's hands. "It makes sense now. They're both moving. Feel . . ." She put his hands on either side of her belly. He could feel his two unborn children, and he wondered why he hadn't realized it before. "I feel so foolish. I should have known, Sully."

"Hey, you've had a lot on your mind. You've been worryin' about the baby so much that you ain't had time to think about anything else."

"I can't believe it, Sully. Twins? I was worried about one!" Sully smiled and pulled Michaela into his arms.

"You're going to be a good ma, Michaela." Michaela swallowed hard and put her hands over Sully's.

"The children will be excited," she whispered. "But everyone else is going to make a fuss when they find out."

"Well, we can make it a surprise," Sully suggested.

"Do you think the children can keep a surprise that long?"

"I think they can," Sully replied.

"Mother wouldn't appreciate being deceived."

"Well, what she doesn't know won't hurt her," Sully said with a laugh.

"Yes, but the problem is that everyone is going to be giving gifts for one baby, and if we let them know there are two, they'll have plenty of time to plan." Sully laughed.

"Well, I s'pose you're right."

"It would be fun to have it be a secret though," Michaela replied with a grin. "What if we don't tell anyone?"

"Not even the children?"

"It'll be a surprise that way," Michaela pointed out. "The children are so excited about one baby, and when they find out there are two . . ."

"I see your point," Sully said, his face lighting up. He kissed Michaela's hand. He knew that if Michaela could have fun with this pregnancy, it would take her mind off of the worrying. He wanted to see her happy, so as long as Michaela was happy and enjoying herself, he would go along with the plan, and they would share the excitement together in the privacy of each other's company. He only hoped that they keep their exciting secret until the babies were born.

This was all new to them, but they were still happy. Neither one of them could wait to be come parents together for the first time, but they were willing to wait for their two little miracles.


	10. Kidnapped

Chapter 10: Kidnapped 

"Have you started workin' on your gift for the baby?" Colleen asked as she cast her fishing line into the creek. She looked at her younger brother, and he nodded.

"Yep."

"What are ya makin'?"

"I'm makin' the baby a dream catcher to put over its cradle."

"A dream catcher?" Matthew asked. "How do ya know how to make that?"

"Cloud Dancin's been teachin' me. He's makin' one for his and Snow Bird's baby."

"That's really nice of you, Brian," Colleen said with a smile of approval in her little brother's direction. She sighed heavily. "Snow Bird's s'pose to be havin' her baby real soon."

"Cloud Dancin' says it's a girl. The spirits told him." The Cooper children had been standing at the creek for the past fifteen minutes. They hadn't caught anything yet, but they had had a few close calls.

"I can't wait to have babies," Colleen said with a dreamy look on her face. Matthew's face grew pale at his twelve-year-old sister's words.

"Oh yes you can!" he said in his best protective older brother voice. Colleen rolled her eyes.

"I ain't plannin' on getting married or havin' babies anytime soon. I wanna go to college and be a doctor like Dr. Mike."

"That's a long time from now."

"Only six years. Dr. Mike went to college when she was eighteen," Colleen protested. The children continued to fish.

Behind a large oak, the older man whispered to the younger.

"You grab the oldest boy first. He'll put up a struggle. Hold a gun on him in case he tries anything stupid. I'll grab the younger ones, and we'll take 'em off to the wagon." The younger man nodded and they slowly began to sneak up on the Cooper children.

Before Matthew knew it, a strong hand was grabbing him from behind. Colleen saw it happen first, and she screamed. Before she could scream very long, the older man clamped a strong hand over her mouth and pulled her back. Brian stood there not knowing what to do, but his first instinct was to run. The older man tripped him when he started off, and he pinned him to the ground with his foot. Brian started screaming, so the man reached down and pulled him up, clamping a hand over his mouth too.

"If you try to put up a fight," the older man warned, you ain't gonna like the consequences. The children knew it was for their own benefit not to fight, but they were more terrified than they had ever been.

Michaela was napping in Sully's arms out by the waterfall when a dreaded feeling came over her. She sat up quickly, and Sully felt her jolt awake. He sat up along with her.

"What is it? Is it the babies?" he asked.

"No! Something's wrong."

"What?"

"I don't know what it is, but I can sense it. Something's wrong. We have to go back into town." Sully wasn't sure what to make of his wife's worries, but he knew that if she had a feeling something was wrong, something probably was. He decided it was best to get her back into town as quickly as possible, and he knew they'd be there by dusk.

Sully stood and helped her stand, and they gathered their things to head back to the cottage. Sully saw that Michaela's face had grown pale with worry, so he put an arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Her hands were placed nervously on her belly, and she had the horrible feeling that she wasn't going to like what she found when she got back into town.

She didn't know where this feeling had come from, but perhaps it was God telling her that she had to get back, much like the spirits spoke to Cloud Dancing.

"You sure everything is alright with the babies?" Michaela nodded.

"They're fine, Sully. I just have this feeling that we need to get home soon." Sully kissed Michaela's hand and gave it a squeeze. They packed up at the cottage quickly before they grabbed the horses and started off to get the wagon.

The two men, whom the children only knew as John, the older man, and Adam, the younger man, were driving their wagon away from Colorado Springs. John was sitting in the back with the children, holding a gun on Brian so that the other two wouldn't feel so brave as to try to jump out.

"Where are we goin'?" Colleen asked as she gripped Matthew's hand with fright.

"Ya'll see in a few minutes."

"Why are you takin' us?" Matthew asked after a moment's pause.

"Because we're finishin' up a job for y. . ." John reached back and slapped Adam on the back of the head to shut him up. "It ain't none of your business." Matthew and Colleen shared a look. Brian was being surprisingly calm, and Colleen was holding his hand to assure him that they were somehow going to get out of the situation they were in.

"Why'd ya have to take us?" Colleen asked. "We didn't do nothin' wrong."

"You're right, little miss," John spoke up from the front. "And you'll continue to be a good little girl unless you want us to hurt ya." Colleen swallowed hard. Matthew glanced at Adam. He had a glint in his eyes when he looked at young Colleen. Matthew didn't like it one bit, and he wanted to punch the daylights out of him for holding a gun on his little brother. Matthew leaned over and whispered into Colleen's ear.

"Scream."

"What?" she asked incredulously. She was thinking of Brian, and she knew that Adam wouldn't hesitate to shoot the young boy.

"Trust me," he whispered. "Scream."

"What are you two chatterin' about?" Adam asked suspiciously. Colleen took a deep breath and let out an ear-shattering scream. The horses spooked and Adam started to grab her to shut her up. Matthew took the opportunity to grab the gun from Adam. The two men began to struggle, and Matthew felt himself about to fall out of the wagon.

"Matthew!" Brian screamed. Colleen began to cry and she and Brian huddled together as Adam and Matthew struggled with the gun. Matthew stumbled out of the wagon and fell with a thud to the ground as the spooked horses ran off in the other direction. Matthew knew he couldn't keep up with the wagon.

"I'll get help! I swear they ain't gonna hurt ya!" Matthew called after his brother and sister. He saw them both crying and holding one another. He turned to run toward town.

"Shoot the boy! He's gotta stay quiet!"

"What? The boss will kill us!"

"If we don't kill him, he's gonna have a whole town out searchin' for us!" John screamed. "Shoot 'im!" Adam swallowed hard and pointed his shotgun at Matthew's running form.

"No!" Colleen screamed. She jumped up and tried to push the gun out of Adam's hands. Adam knocked her down and she hit her head on the side of the wagon. Brian crawled over to help his big sister sit up. A gunshot rang out and Matthew felt a stinging pain in the back of his shoulder. He screamed out and fell face down onto the ground. He realized that Adam had been aiming to kill him, so the deader he looked, the sooner Adam would turn around.

"He's dead, boss," Adam said, not sure of himself.

"NO!" Brian yelled out.

"You two shut up before you get the same as your brother!" John warned. Adam held the gun on both of the kids as they cowered together in the corner of the wagon, not sure what to do next. They were afraid to move. All they knew was that their brother had just been killed, and they weren't sure if there was any hope left for them."

As planned, Michaela and Sully arrived in town right before sunset. Michaela's worries were proved right when she found a whole crowd gathered in front of the clinic.

"Michaela!" Elizabeth exclaimed. She was so glad that her daughter and son-in-law had come back instead of stayed away longer as they had planned. Jake reached out to help Michaela out of the wagon as Sully got out of the other side. Michaela quickly scanned the crowed and knew something was wrong.

"Where are the children?" she asked worriedly.

"They went fishing earlier today. They haven't come back yet," Josef pointed out.

"We were just about to go lookin' for 'em," Hank explained.

"I know where they go fishin'," Sully said quickly, his heart pounding out of worry. "I'll go look for 'em."

"I'm going with you," Josef spoke up.

"Me too," Robert E. said. "I'll go get some horses."

"I'm goin'."

"Same here." Soon, Sully, Josef, Horace, Hank, Robert E. Jake, Loren, and the Reverend Johnson were saddling up to go search for the children. They all had lanterns from the mercantile to light their way.

"I should go," Michaela whispered. "What if they're hurt?"

"I'll take care of 'em," Jake offered. "I know how to bandage wounds."

"What if it's something more serious?" Michaela asked.

"You can't travel anymore today, Michaela," Sully warned. "You're exhausted. You need to rest."

"The children will be alright, my dear," Elizabeth whispered, putting her arm around her daughter's shoulder. "Come rest. The men will find them." Michaela handed Sully her medical bag.

"Just in case," she whispered. Sully leaned down from his horse and kissed Michaela.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too. Please bring our children back safely." Sully nodded and all of the men rode off, leaving the rest of the town in the dust. Michaela began to cry and the women all went to fuss over her.

"Come on into the clinic, Dr. Mike," Grace said softly. "You need to rest. I'll go fix ya somethin' for dinner, and we'll all have a nice little chat. It's gonna be alright. The men are gonna find 'em." Grace, Dorothy, Elizabeth, Myra, and Holly all walked with Michaela into the clinic. Elizabeth opened the door to the room she was staying in, and ordered her daughter to get into bed.

"You and my grandchild need your rest."

"I'll go fix some tea," Holly offered.

"Thank you," Michaela replied, sniffling, wishing she could be out there hunting for her children alongside her husband. She wished that his situation hadn't even occurred. What if they were hurt or sick? What if the men had taken advantage of Colleen?

Elizabeth, Dorothy, and Myra sat with Michaela while Holly went with Grace to the café.

"They'll find 'em, Michaela. Don't you worry," Dorothy assured her friend.

"Yeah. They'll be alright," Myra offered. Michaela wasn't so sure. The only thing she was sure of was that her children needed her, and she wasn't in any condition to get to them.

An hour later, the wagon pulled up beside an old miner's cave. Colleen had a horrible headache due to hitting her head earlier, but she was fighting the urge to sleep for her little brother's sake. She remembered Dr. Mike speaking of things called concussions that sometimes happened after a hit to the head. Colleen wondered if she had gotten one. She knew that if she had, she couldn't go to sleep.

Light was bouncing off of the rocks in the cave, and Brian figured that this was where the men were going to keep them for the night.

"Boss is gonna be mad when he finds out about the oldest boy," Adam whispered to John.

"You let me do the talkin'! He's got the money on him, so we'll take care of business. If he tries anything funny, we'll kill 'im." Adam and John dragged Colleen and Brian into the cave. The children were shocked when they saw who was sitting around the campfire.

"Pa?" Brian asked.

"Hello Brian," Ethan said with a fire in his eyes.

"What's goin' on?" Colleen asked as tears formed in her eyes. Ethan looked around.

"Where's Matthew?"

"They shot him!" Brian yelled angrily. Ethan stood quickly and marched over to John and Adam.

"I told you not to hurt any of them!"

"He got away! He woulda talked if he had gotten back to town!"

"You shot my son!" Ethan grabbed Adam by the throat.

"It was his idea!" Colleen said, pointing at John.

"I'll deal with the two of you later."

"Why did you have them take us?" Brian asked, grabbing onto Colleen's skirt and holding on tight.

"We're gonna be a family," Ethan replied. "But we ain't complete without Matthew."

"Matthew's dead," Adam replied. "I killed 'im." He swallowed hard. "I . . ." Ethan shook his head. The look in his eyes told John and Adam that the man was too money hungry than to be worried about his son.

"You two leave."

"Not without our money." Ethan pulled a wad of cash out of his pocket and threw it at their feet. The men greedily gathered up the money and started out of the cave. Ethan drew his gun and shot both men in the back. The children screamed and ran to hide behind a boulder. He gathered the money back from the men.

"With Matthew gone, I can still get the money," he whispered to himself. "It ain't my fault he's dead." Ethan turned to his children. He heard them whimpering behind the large boulder.

"Come on out. Pa's not gonna hurt ya."

"You ain't our pa!" Brian screamed. "I hate you!" Colleen held her little brother tight.

"He ain't gonna take us," she whispered. "He can't take us."

"We're goin' back to San Francisco tomorrow mornin'. Don't try runnin' off, 'cause I'm gonna be awake all night." Ethan sat down by the fire and threw a couple of twigs into it. The children held onto each other, clinging to hope that someone find them.

The search party found the fishing equipment, and Sully recognized one of Colleen's bonnets.

"This is their stuff," he said with a heavy heart. He swallowed hard and Josef put a hand on his son-in-law's shoulder.

"We'll find them, son," he whispered. They had picked Wolf and Pup up to help with the search, and they knew that the dogs were their best bet. Hank dismounted his horse and walked over to pick up Colleen's bonnet. He handed it to Sully.

"This is hers," Sully whispered, his voice cracking. Sully dismounted his horse and knelt beside Pup and Wolf. Hank handed him Matthew's hat, which he must have left behind. Sully held the two items in front of the dogs.

"Find 'em boys," he urged. The dogs picked up the scent and ran off in the direction their noses were taking them.

"Come on, boys! Let's follow 'em!" Loren urged. Everyone got back on their horses and rushed off in pursuit of the wolves.

It was late, and Dorothy, Myra, and Elizabeth had gone into another room to get some rest. They were all going to stay at the clinic with Dr. Mike until word came back from the men. They had all talked with her, and seemed to have calmed her down a bit, but she was still incredibly upset, and on the verge of breaking down into tears again.

Grace had gone back to the café to close up for the night, but Holly had stayed at the doctor's side.

"We haven't really gotten to know one another," Holly said softly. "But I want you to know that I hope the men find your children. They're the sweetest kids I've ever met." Michaela sniffed and wiped tears from her eyes. She knew she needed to take her mind off of her own troubles. She noticed a few tears falling from the teacher's eyes.

"Holly?" Michaela asked, sitting up a little in bed, resting her back against the headboard. "What is it?"

"It's nothing," the young woman replied.

"Holly, I know we don't know one another very well, but I could use another friend. If there's something you'd like to get off of your chest, you can trust me not to say anything." Holly swallowed hard.

"Michaela, I know I can trust you," she said gently. "You've been so kind to me since I first got here." She wiped another falling tear. Michaela put her hand on Holly's.

"What is it? You can tell me," Michaela whispered. Holly let out a sob.

"The truth is, I know what you're going through."


	11. Reaching Out

Chapter 11: Reaching Out 

"Excuse me?" Michaela asked the young woman that was sitting beside her. "How can you know what I'm going through? Have you ever had your children taken away from you?"

"Yes," Holly whispered softly. Michaela hadn't expected to hear that word come from Holly's mouth next.

"What?" Michaela asked incredulously. Holly took a deep breath and let out a little sob.

"I haven't said anything because I don't want people to think bad of me. I'm trying to have a place to call home, and I'm starting to rebuild my life. If people knew the secret I carry with me, they would turn their back on me."

"I won't," Michaela promised. "I'll never turn my back on a friend, and you can count on me not to say anything." Holly nodded slowly, swallowed hard, and took a deep breath.

"My father was rough on the slaves, and I hated the way he treated them. About ten years ago, I went fifteen years old, and I befriended one of the young men. He was about my age, and his name was Marcus. He was a good worker, and my father quite favored him of all of his field hands. Marcus was so sweet. He was intelligent, and he was so scared that my father was going to sell him to somebody worse. Marcus was the only slave my father never laid a hand on."

"What did your father think of your friendship?"

"He didn't know. I would sneak out after my bedtime, and I would meet Marcus in the shack he stayed in with four other men. When those men were asleep, he and I would stay up and talk until the sun came up. We grew very close, and I would sneak back into my room before my father woke."

"How did you become friends with him?"

"I was out walking by the lake near our home, and he saved my life when I fell in. It was deep, and I couldn't swim. I swore to myself that I would get to know him, and I would protect him too." Tears flooded her eyes again. "We fell in love, Michaela. He asked me to be his wife, and we married with God as our witness. We married by the lake where he saved my life. We were the only two who knew of our sacred union. I didn't dare tell my father for fear that he would sell Marcus or worse."

"Oh that must have been so hard for you."

"I wanted to run off with Marcus, but he refused to run away. He didn't want me to get hurt, and he knew that if we tried to run away, he would be captured, and I would be punished for aiding and abetting him. My father was strict, and he would have punished me severely." Michaela felt a lump forming in her throat. "I became pregnant with our child, and my nanny tried to hide the fact that I was pregnant from my father, but he caught on quickly, and he demanded to know which boy it was. He was going to have a talk with his father. I wanted to lie and tell him it was one of the fancy snobs that had tried to court me. But I knew that as soon as our child was born, he would know the truth, and see that the child's father was colored." Michaela squeezed Holly's hand but didn't interrupt her. "I didn't say anything, but Marcus did. He told my father that the child was his. I wanted to deny it, but I couldn't lie! I loved Marcus so much, and I didn't want my child to know that I denied the fact that Marcus was his father. So, my father took Marcus for a walk by the lake, and he came back alone, blood covering his hands."

"Oh Holly," Michaela whispered, her eyes welling with tears. "I'm so sorry." Holly began to cry. "I gave birth to a little girl named Mary. I thought that by giving her a biblical name, my father would soften and let me keep her. But he sold her; sent her away the night she was born. He refused to have a child of such nature in his house, and when I had to give her away, I sent a locket with her. It had a tiny diamond in the center of the heart, and I hoped that she would wear it when she grew. That heart was a symbol of the love her father and I shared. She would be ten today, and I don't know where she is or if she's even alive. All I know is that she was sold to a plantation in Georgia that was hours away from ours. I thought about going after her so many times, but I just couldn't. I regret letting my father give her away, but I had no choice."

Michaela didn't know what to do, but she leaned over to give her friend a hug.  
"I lie awake at night and I wonder what she looks like, if she's safe, and if she's being treated right."

"I'm sure that wherever she is, she has a good home and is being given the proper care that she needs."

"I can only hope," Holly whispered. "But at least you'll get your children back." Michaela swallowed hard.

"I hope you're right, Holly. I hope you're right."

The wolves were hot on the children's trail, and the men were wearily riding after them. Pup was a bit slower than Wolf, so the men could still see him up ahead. Sully heard Wolf begin to howl, and as soon as the men saw that the two wolves were stopped, they all knew why. Someone was lying face first into the grass. Sully dismounted, fearing the worst. He held his lantern up to the man, and rolled him onto his back. It was Matthew! He let out a long groan.

"Matthew!"

"Pa?" Matthew asked slowly. Sully's heart began to break, and he felt like crying when his oldest son called him 'pa' for the first time.

"It's me, son," Sully whispered.

"You okay, boy?" Loren asked as he dismounted and walked over to kneel next to Sully. Soon all of the men had formed a circle around them. Sully felt something warm and wet on his hand, and when he pulled it out from behind Matthew, he saw blood.

"They shot me in the back and took off with the kids," Matthew whispered. "I musta passed out. I meant to get back into town."

"Shh," Sully whispered. "It's alright. We've gotcha now."

"You've gotta find 'em, pa! John and Adam have 'em." Matthew passed out and Sully held the boy close.

"You're gonna be alright." He looked to the group. "I need somebody to take him back to town to Michaela. She sent her medical bag with me, but he needs more care than we can give him out here."

"We'll go," Jake said, tapping Hank on the shoulder. Sully nodded and Robert E. helped him hoist Matthew up onto the horse with Jake. The two men rode off with him just as Wolf and Pup picked up the scent again.

"Come on, let's get goin'," Sully urged. He was worried about his oldest son, but he knew that he had to find Colleen and Brian before it was too late. He didn't know what he was going to find, but he was dreading the worst.

Holly had managed to fall asleep a few hours later after a long talk with Dr. Mike. Michaela promised not to say anything to anyone about Holly's past, because the young woman was trying to start a new life over without her father. She had told Michaela that he was always looking for her, but she would never go back to live under his control.

Michaela couldn't sleep. All she could think about were her children, and she was so afraid that whoever had them would show no mercy to them. She kept trying to think positive, but the fact that she was bone tired didn't help her feel any better.

The sound of horses outside of the clinic snapped Michaela out of her thoughts. She waddled over to the balcony and looked out. She saw three men, one slumped over a horse.

"Oh God," she whispered. She hurried out of the room and down the stairs. The women had heard the footsteps, and they had hurried down after her.

"Michaela!" Elizabeth called after her daughter. Banging was heard on the front door of the clinic, and when Michaela unlocked it, Jake and Hank were holding up an unconscious Matthew.

"Oh my God!" she exclaimed.

"He was shot earlier today. We found him. He's still alive, but he's real weak," Jake commented.

"Put him on the table," Michaela whispered with tears in her eyes. Hank and Jake put him on his stomach with his back showing. Michaela saw the wound and she could tell that it was becoming infected. If she didn't act soon, Matthew could very well lose his arm or worse.

"I need everyone to wait outside," Michaela offered.

"I'm staying with my grandson," Elizabeth replied. Michaela nodded and everyone else left, including Hank and Jake as Michaela began to examine her son's injury. As soon as Myra and Hank were outside, Myra pulled him into a hug.

"Thank God you're safe," she whispered. "I couldn't help but think that somethin' bad was gonna happen to ya."

"Nothin's gonna happen to me," Hank promised. "I'm here now."

"Are ya goin' back out there to help Sully look for the kids?"

"Yeah. We're goin' back as soon as the doc tells us how Matthew's doin'."

"Hank, I was so scared," Myra whispered as her tears began to fall. Hank pressed a kiss to her lips.

"I was worried 'bout ya too, but I knew you'd be okay here in town. I hate leavin' ya." He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head. "C'mon. Let's go for a walk." He took her hand and led her away from the group and off to talk in private.

Meanwhile, Michaela was trying to extract the bullet from Matthew's shoulder. She looked at Elizabeth who didn't seem to be flinching in the least.

"Mother, could you hand me those small forceps? I need to hold the tissue back in order to be able to see the bullet." Elizabeth nodded and did as her daughter asked. A few moments later, the bullet was out, and Michaela was able to repair the tissue and sew up his wound. Michaela looked at Elizabeth and smiled.

"Is he going to make it?"

"Yes. He's a lucky young man. However I hope that Colleen and Brian were luckier. I hope Sully brings them home, safe and sound."

Up on a hill, the men of the town, including Josef, sat on their horses, staring down at a dimly lit cave. The wolves were growing restless, and looking down at the cave. Sully knew the children had to be in there, and if they were there, so were their kidnappers. Matthew had referred to them as John and Adam.

"How are we getting my grandchildren back?" Josef asked, putting his hand on Sully's shoulder.

"I've gotta prepare for the worst. I'm gonna go in from the side and catch 'em off guard."

"What do you want us to do?"

"Reverend, I want you to pray that my kids are safe. Horace and Loren, you ride in on the right. Josef, I want you to wait with the Reverend."

"Because I'm old?"

"Because if anything happened to you, I couldn't face Michaela," Sully replied quietly. "Robert E., you come with me." Robert E. nodded and all of the men started off except for the Revered and Josef. Sully's heart was pounding in his chest, and he knew that he had to get his kids home safely. They had to be safe. They had to be.

The children hadn't managed to get one wink of sleep, but Ethan on the other hand, had passed out cold in front of the fire. The children were afraid to move, however, because they didn't know how deep his sleep was. They were afraid that he would come after them, and they had already had quite a day.

The barking of a wolf in the distance made the children exchange glances.

"You think that's Wolf or Pup?" Brian asked. Colleen held her finger to her lips.

"Shh, we don't wanna wake him up." The barking grew louder, and Brian definitely heard his pup.

"Pup!"

"Shh!" Colleen warned. "Don't wake him up." She put her hand over her little brother's mouth, and they waited in silence. Ethan mumbled something in his sleep, rolled over, coughed, and went back to sleep.

The sounds of crickets outside made an eerie echo bounce off the walls of the cave. The firelight made spooky shadows, and the children began to shiver with fright.

Sully poked his head into the cave, and he saw two men lying face down on the ground, bullet holes in both of their backs. He saw another figure curled up close to the fire. He motioned for Robert E. to wait over with Loren and Horace. Sully quietly slipped into the cave and made his way around the campfire. He looked at the man who was sleeping on his side, and he was shocked to see Ethan Cooper.

Sully pulled his tomahawk from his belt and held it in his hands.

"Wake up Ethan," Sully said loudly. Colleen and Brian gasped and stood up.

"Pa!" Colleen exclaimed.

"You came for us!" Brian said with excitement. Ethan woke and sat abruptly.

"Did he hurt you?" Sully asked, keeping his eyes on Ethan.

"We're alright. Matthew's hurt," Colleen replied quietly.

"We found Matthew."

"He's dead, isn't he?" Brian asked, looking down.

"He's alright, son," Sully replied. "Your ma is takin' good care of him." The children's faces lit with hope and they held onto one another.

"I suggest you turn around, Mr. Sully," Ethan warned, standing up. He pulled a gun from his pocket, and Sully knew that it wasn't safe to have the weapons near the children. He put the tomahawk back in his belt and put his hands up.

"Just let me take my children and get out of here, Ethan."

"They're my kids."

"Not anymore!" Colleen protested. "It's legal now. You ain't our pa anymore." Ethan cocked his gun.

"Come on, Ethan. You don't want to do this."

"Not with witnesses around," came a voice from the cave's entrance. Everyone turned to see Robert E., Horace, Loren, Reverend Johnson, and Josef. Sully wanted to yell at them to leave, but he saw that Ethan had his gun turned on them. Sully took the opportunity to kick the gun out of his hand. Robert E. grabbed it and threw it off and out of the cave. Ethan lunged at Sully, and knocked him to the ground.

"Kids, get out of here!" Sully yelled as Ethan threw a punch at Sully's stomach. Sully groaned loudly and the children rushed out. The other men hurried to get the children to safety, leaving Sully and Ethan to duke it out with one another.

Sully pushed Ethan off of him, and the older man stumbled backward. Sully felt his anger surging through his veins, and he jumped on the man, hitting him hard across the face four times before he stopped himself. Ethan's eye slowly began to swell, and his noise and lip were bleeding. Sully stood and grabbed a piece of rope to tie a beaten Ethan's hands behind his back.

"You're gonna pay for what you've done, Ethan," Sully said through a clenched jaw. "You're gonna pay."

When the sun came up in the morning, Michaela woke sitting in a chair beside Matthew's bed. Matthew's eyes were closed, and he had yet to wake up. Michaela was concerned about him. She stood to stretch her sore muscles, and she felt the babies kicking around inside of her. She rubbed her belly and started out of the door, but she heard Matthew begin to stir.

"Ma?" he asked. Michaela turned and walked back over to sit at his bedside. She took his hand.

"I'm here," she whispered. Matthew squeezed her hand.

"I'm not gonna die, am I?" he asked softly.

"No sweetheart," Michaela whispered, leaning down to press a kiss to her son's forehead. "You're going to be alright."

"Colleen and Brian?"

"There's no word yet, but I'm sure they're going to be fine. Hank and Jake went out to re-join the search party after they found out you were alright."

"Ma, I was so scared. I wish I could have gone after them," Matthew said, his voice breaking as he spoke. He swallowed hard.

"Sully's going to bring them back, Matthew. There's nothing to worry about." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Are you in any pain? I can get you something for it." She stood to go get some pain medication. Matthew grabbed her hand.

"Ma?"

"Hmm?" Michaela asked. She turned to look at him.

"I know I never called you ma before, 'cause I wasn't sure if it was right, but I wanna start callin' ya ma from now on. Is that alright with you?"

"Oh it's more than alright," Michaela replied with a teary smile. She kissed his forehead.

"Good," he replied. He closed his eyes and Michaela decided to let him rest for a little bit. She slowly walked out of his room and ran into Ingrid in the process.

"Excuse me," the young girl said softly.

"Ingrid, you heard about Matthew?"'

"I heard," she replied. "May I see him?"

"Yes of course," Michaela answered with a smile. "I'm sure he'd love to see you." She put her hand on the girl's shoulder, and started downstairs. Ingrid disappeared into Matthew's room.

Michaela made her way downstairs where the women were all gathered.

"Oh, Michaela, what are you doing out of bed?"

"I didn't even go to bed last night, mother," Michaela replied. "I sat up with Matthew all evening."

"You must rest."

"I'm alright," Michaela replied. "I slept a little."

"Michaela, you need to rest," Dorothy said softly. "I remember bein' pregnant with my children, and it was all I could do to function a day without sleep." Michaela sighed and shook her head.

"I won't be able to rest until my children are home safely." As if like clockwork, the sound of several horses trotting into town pierced through the silent drone the empty streets. The women all went outside to see the men coming into town on their horses. Michaela searched for Sully's horse and would have leapt for joy if she wasn't five months pregnant with twins. Colleen was sitting in front of Sully while Brian was sitting with Robert E.

"Ma!" Colleen exclaimed. The horses stopped and Sully helped her down while Robert E. let Brian down. The children ran to Michaela and clung to her.

"Ma," Brian cried. Michaela held onto the children tight and she began to cry.

"Thank God you're safe. Thank God!" She knelt down so she could make sure they were alright, examining their faces and their arms. The search party scattered and the rest of the town made sure the children were alright before going back to their daily routines. Hank and Jake started off for the sheriff's office to hold Ethan until they could get a marshal. The bodies of Adam and John were on another horse, draped across like they were on a packhorse.

"We're okay, ma," Colleen replied. Sully dismounted his horse and walked over to his family. Colleen looked up at him. "Pa saved us." Sully knelt down and brushed a tear from Michaela's eye.

"I told ya I'd get 'em back," he whispered.

"How's Matthew?" Brian asked.

"He's alright. He's with Ingrid, but I'm sure he'd love to see you both. When you're done visiting him, I want to make sure neither of you are hurt." Colleen and Brian ran into the clinic to be reunited with their brother. Michaela threw herself into Sully's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. She broke down into gasping sobs, and Elizabeth turned away to give them some time alone. Sully held Michaela close and rocked her back and forth, stroking her hair and her back. She noticed the bodies on the horse. "Are those the men who took our children?"

"Yes," he replied. "But they were paid by Ethan." Sully nodded toward the sheriff's office. Michaela got a brief glimpse of him. She felt her blood boil, but she kept her arms around Sully. "Everything's alright now. We're gonna wire a marshal and hopefully Ethan will be sent away for a long time."

"He didn't hurt them, did he?"

"They're alright. How's Matthew really doin'?"

"He's good, Sully. He's awake." Sully kissed Michaela's forehead.

"You look like you need to lie down."

"I'm alright."

"Michaela, you need rest," Sully whispered.

"I need to be with my family."

"Our family's back together now," Sully whispered. "We ain't ever gonna be separated again. C'mon. Let's go see our children. After that, I want you to rest." Sully took Michaela's hand and led her inside to be with their family. He swore to himself right then and there to keep his family together, and he would do anything to make that happen.


	12. Early Sun

Chapter 12: Early Sun 

Michaela woke the next morning with a smile on her face. She was in the arms of the man she loved, albeit she was at the clinic. The family had stayed at the clinic with Matthew so he wouldn't have to be moved just yet. Horace had sent word to a marshal, and the town was expecting a judge in a few days. Hank and Jake offered to look after the prisoner until that happened.

Michaela pressed a kiss to a sleeping Sully's lips, and he woke to her touch. She pulled away and smiled at him.

"Good morning," she whispered.

"Mornin'," he replied back with a loving grin. His hands moved to stroke her belly. "How ya feelin'?"

"So much better," she admitted. "I'm glad you're here in my arms this morning. I'm glad that our children are safe with us. I'm glad our babies are moving around and kicking me, because I know they're getting stronger by the day." Sully kissed Michaela and they sat up in bed. Michaela yawned and stretched.

"It's getting late. I hope the children know they don't have to go to school today. They've been through a lot. Holly Tucker is willing to give them the week off."

"Yeah," Sully said with a nod. "I told them they didn't have to go." Michaela sighed and leaned against Sully's chest.

"Sully?"

"Hmm?"

"Matthew asked me last night if he could call me 'ma.'"

"He did?"

"Yes," Michaela replied with a smile.

"He called me 'pa' last night. I think the children are finally comin' around to sayin' it 'cause they know we're family. They know we'd go to the ends of the earth to help 'em." Michaela nuzzled Sully's cheek with her nose and breathed in the scent of him. She had missed him while he was gone, and even though it hadn't even been a full day, she was still so relieved to have him back. She was grateful to him for bringing their children back safe and sound. She only wished that Matthew hadn't been shot, but she also knew there was nothing any of them could have done to prevent that. "Come on. We better get up and get ready to take Matthew home." Michaela nodded.

Sully helped her pull herself out of bed, and she groaned as she felt her weight in her ankles. Her feet were very sore, and Sully made a mental note to give Michaela a nice body massage at bedtime.

He helped his wife with her shoes, and handed her the brush so she could brush her hair.

"I'll be right back. I'm gonna go check on the kids." Michaela nodded her thanks and watched Sully leave the room. She finished her hair and went to join her husband.

Matthew was asleep, and Ingrid was sleeping in the chair next to his bed. Brian was curled up under his blanket, and Colleen, too, was fast asleep.

"They must be exhausted," Michaela whispered. "Let's not wake them." Sully nodded in agreement and took Michaela's hand. They started down the stairs.

"You hungry?"

"A little."

"Will you join me at Grace's for breakfast?"

"I would be honored, Mr. Sully," Michaela replied with a grin. She kissed his cheek and they started across the street. The morning air was hot and sticky, and Michaela immediately knew she was in for a horrid summer. But the time she was nine months pregnant, September would be here, but she would still have to endure the agonizing heat of summer while carrying around two small people inside of her.

Just as they were heading over to the café, Cloud Dancing came riding into town. Sully and Michaela turned quickly to see him. The look on his face was one of pure panic, and Michaela's thoughts immediately went to Snow Bird.

"Cloud Dancing?" Michaela asked as he stopped his horse before them.

"It is Snow Bird. She says the baby is coming."

"I'll go get the wagon," Sully offered. He rushed over to the livery.

"It is too early."

"She is due in June," Michaela thought. "She can't be more than two weeks early. I'm sure this is normal." She knew that the Indians did not have the same kind of technology that everyone else had, and that they were more susceptible to disease. She hoped that Snow Bird's labor was a routine and normal one. She didn't know what she would do if she had to tell her friend that his wife and child had died.

Sully arrived with the wagon, helped Michaela up, and they quickly followed Cloud Dancing out to the reservation.

Several of the Cheyenne were gathered outside of Cloud Dancing's teepee. The father-to-be was waiting nervously, pacing as he heard the screams of his wife. This would be their first child since the death of their son three winters ago. Cloud Dancing was nervous, and Sully was trying his best to calm his brother down.

"She's takin' good care of her," Sully promised.

"It's too early."

"Just by a couple of weeks," Sully explained. "Dr. Mike says that everything should be fine. Everything happenin' to Snow Bird is normal." Cloud Dancing swallowed hard.

"I do not like to wait. The spirits say my daughter will be healthy, but Snow Bird is in so much pain. I do not like seeing her in pain."

"It's all natural," Sully replied, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. He couldn't help but think of Abagail giving birth to Hanna. He hoped that nobody would ever have to go through what he went through. It was one of the most painful situations he had ever been in, and he was glad that he had still been able to have a family of his own.

A moment later, the cries of a newborn Cheyenne were heard throughout the reservation. The Indians began to celebrate, and Cloud Dancing looked at Sully. He laughed with joy and the two men shook hands. Michaela came out with a smile on her face.

"Your daughter and wife are waiting for you," she said with tears in her eyes. "They're both healthy." Cloud Dancing quickly went to join his wife, and Michaela walked over to clean her hands and arms. When she was finished, Sully put his arms around her.

"You did good today," he whispered.

"Snow Bird did all the work."

"Yeah, but in a few months, you'll be doin' the same thing as she did." Michaela sighed heavily and kissed Sully's cheek.

"Snow Bird said they will call her Early Sun, because she came before she was due to arrive."

"I've never seen Cloud Dancin' so proud."

"I can't wait to see the look on your face when you hold our children in your arms for the first time."

"That'll be the second proudest day of my life."

"Second?"

"The proudest day of my life was the day I married you."

"Hank? Where are ya takin' me?" Myra asked as Hank held her hand and practically dragged her through the woods. She couldn't stop laughing, because the look on is face looked as if he was nervous and angry at the same time. "Hank!" Hank stopped and turned to her.

"Don't ya trust me?"

"Of course I do. I'm just a little confused, is all."

"It shouldn't be too much longer."

"Can ya give me a hint?"

"Nope. It wouldn't be a surprise then." Myra sighed with exasperation, and they continued through the woods. Hank's grip grew increasingly tighter, and Myra knew it wasn't on purpose.

"Hank! Stop for a minute!" Hank paused and let go of Myra's hand. Myra could see that he was trembling. "What's goin' on?"

"I didn't squeeze your hand too tight, did I?" he asked.

"No," she giggled. "What are ya doin'?"

"I'm tryin' to find this tree that I marked earlier. It was s'pose to be special."

"What?" Myra was completely confused, and didn't know what the heck Hank was talking about.

"It was this big willow tree that I thought was perfect for this, but I guess that I'm gonna have to do this here since I can't find it."

"Do what?" Myra asked. Hank's face was pale and his hands were shaking and clammy. He wiped the sweat off of his palms on his pants and swallowed hard. He slowly pulled a small box out of his pocket and knelt down on one knee. He cleared his throat.

"I know I ain't the nicest guy in the world. Hell, I don't know how you put up with me. But somehow you see through everything that people hate about me, and you see how I feel about you. Myra, I love you, and being with you brings out the best in me. Will you be my wife?" Myra's hand had gone up to her mouth while her eyes went wide the moment Hank revealed the beautiful ring. She was speechless! "Myra?"

"Huh?" She couldn't take her eyes off of the ring that Hank was offering to her.

"You haven't said anything yet."

"Oh!" she exclaimed. "I'm sorry. Ya just caught me off guard." She looked into Hank's eyes, and suddenly, he was the only thing that mattered in the world. "Come on. Stand up. You're gonna get your pants all dirty." She sniffled and wiped her nose. Hank stood shakily. She took his hands in hers, and smiled as her fingers laced with his.

"Myra?"

"We are two completely different people, Hank. We come from different places, and we have different opinions on most things, but that doesn't seem to matter. We love each other, and that seems to cancel out all those other things. I love you, and I would be honored to wear your ring, take your name, and be your wife." Hank breathed a sigh of relief, and pulled Myra into his arms, happy that she had accepted his proposal. He couldn't wait for her to be his wife. For the first time in his life, he actually had something to look forward to.

Matthew leaned on both of his parents as they helped him into the new homestead. Ingrid had accompanied the family to the homestead, and she was helping Colleen prepare his bed.

Once Sully and Michaela had their son safely in bed, Ingrid went on home while Colleen and Brian sat with their older brother. Michaela and Sully finally had a little quiet time to themselves. Michaela could feel pressure in her back, and she leaned onto her hands as they massaged her sore back muscles. Sully saw Michaela wince.

"Michaela?"

"It's nothing. I'm just tired."

"Here, sit down," he urged. He helped Michaela sit back into one of their wing-backed chairs. He pulled a footrest over and she propped her feet up on it. Sully removed her shoes as he crouched on the floor, and he began to massage her feet.

"That feels nice," she moaned. Sully smiled.

"You've had a busy day." Michaela nodded slightly. A smile crept over her lips.

"Early Sun was so beautiful," she whispered.

"Yes she was. Cloud Dancing and Snow Bird are very lucky."

"I can't wait until our babies are here, Sully. I want them to stay in there as long as they need to, but I can't wait to hold them see what they look like."

"Me neither," Sully admitted. "It's gonna be a madhouse around here though."

"I know," Michaela laughed. "But I can't wait." Sully's hands began to massage farther up Michaela's legs, and his sensual touch made Michaela's spine tingle. His fingers seemed to send sparks to her very center, and she wanted to melt at his touch.

His hands traveled farther up her legs, Michaela's cheeks blushed red. She looked around and bit her bottom lip.

"Sully! The children are right upstairs. We can't do this here." Sully kicked his boots off and kissed her hand gently. He pulled her up into his arms. Michaela was still amazed that he could carry her in her condition. He carried her outside and across the yard to the barn. Sully helped Michaela climb up into the loft.

"Lay down," he whispered huskily, giving her a passionate kiss upon the lips. Michaela felt the heat beginning to rise within her. Sully removed his shirt, and she stared at his gorgeous features. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but he climbed down the ladder before she had a chance to touch him. Sully walked over to shut the doors and put a board in the two metal hooks in order to hold them shut. He didn't want any interruptions.

As Sully climbed back up into the loft, his eyes locked with Michaela's, and he could see her blush with excitement. He crawled over to her, and captured her lips with his own. He couldn't put into words what Michaela could do with him with one little glance or one little caress. She was beautiful and had the powers to bring him to his knees.

Sully's hands worked at Michaela's dress, unfastening the buttons and exposing a little more flesh at once. His lips caressed her silky skin, and traveled farther down with each unfastened button. He looked up into Michaela's eyes when he saw that she was wearing nothing under her dress. She blushed and looked away.

"I was uncomfortable and too warm to . . ." He turned her head with his fingertips and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"No need to explain," he said with a grin. He kissed her again. He helped her out of her dress, and threw it off to the side. He leaned back to take in his wife's beautiful features. The flesh on her breasts was even more sensitive due to the pregnancy, and he could see her body slowly starting to perspire from her short, quick breaths. Her breasts heaved beautifully before his eyes, and he laid her back into the soft, clean hay. "You're so beautiful."

"How can you think that?"

"I don't have to think it. I know it. I see it every day. You're perfect." His fingers grazed over her breasts, and her nipples hardened at his very touch.

"Sully," she moaned softly. She wanted to tell him how much he meant to her, how much he pleased her, but the words weren't there. She wanted to show him, but she was too overcome by passion to even move when Sully's hand slid between her legs. She shivered, and finally relaxed when he began to stroke her. Her eyes closed, and her back arched a bit. "Sully!" The sound of her calling his name that way made his passion grow. He suddenly became aware of the discomfort his pants were bringing him. He brought his hands to unbutton his pants, but Michaela sat up and began to do the job herself.

As she worked, her eyes locked on Sully's. His hands moved to caress her back as she leaned forward. As soon as he was about to free himself from his pants, he stood and stepped out of them. The sight of her naked husband before her drove Michaela through the roof. She wanted to reach out to him, but she was a bit shy to do so. She had been with him several times before, but sometimes, believe it or not, she didn't feel bold enough to take charge. Michaela leaned back into the hay again, and Sully began to kiss her beautiful face. He kissed her forehead, each of her eyes, the tip of her nose, her lips, and her neck. His tongue darted out to went her honey skin. Sully's hands began to caress her belly. He loved the feel of her belly against him when they made love. He knew she felt very self-conscious about her body, but he thought she looked gorgeous. She was in amazing shape, and her porcelain skin looked even more beautiful when she was pregnant.

He saw her blushing again, and he kissed her belly, keeping his eyes locked on hers.

"You are the most beautiful woman," he whispered. Those words made Michaela want him even more. She pulled him up onto her, spreading her legs so he could lie between them. One of his hands moved up to caress her cheek while the other slid down the side of her leg to massage her thigh.

"I love you," Michaela whispered as she boldly reached down to guide Sully inside of her. She moaned as he penetrated her, and his own breaths became ragged. He buried his head on Michaela's shoulder for a moment, and she moved her hands to run through his hair. "I love you," she repeated. "Sully . . ." She needed him now, and her hands began to caress his back. He looked up into her eyes and began to move slowly, making love to her with a gentle ease that carried them both into higher realms of pleasure. Their cries were muffled by each other's kisses, not wanting the children to hear them and come running out to see what was going on. They were completely focused on making one another happy, and didn't want to stop. After awhile, the pleasure grew so intense that both were nearly to their individual peaks.

"I love you," Sully cried out as he finally reached his climax. Michaela, too, reached hers and they collapsed into each other's arms. Sully rolled off of Michaela as to not crush their children under his weight. She rolled onto her side and he pulled her into his arms. Michaela smiled as she looked lovingly into her husband's eyes. She loved how spontaneous this had been, and was a bit frightened by her desires. Sully saw a glint of worry in her eyes.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked, worried that perhaps he had hurt her or the babies.

"No," she whispered, kissing his forehead. "I'm just so overwhelmed. Sully, my desire for you seems to grow even more every time we make love."

"I feel the same way," he replied. "What's wrong with that?"

"It's lead to this spontaneity."

"So?" he asked with a chuckle.

"I'm just worried that we might feel the urge to act on our desires, and we'll get caught." She blushed and Sully kissed her softly.

"There ain't nothin' to be ashamed of. Makin' love is a part of life. I love bein' with you, Michaela, and I will never be ashamed to display my love for you."

"I'm not ashamed," Michaela pointed out. "I'm just saying that we should be careful. We have three children at home, and soon there'll be five. My parents are having a house built out here, and soon, we'll have hardly any privacy."

"Don't worry," Sully replied. "If we ever want some privacy, we'll just let each other know." Michaela grinned and kissed Sully. She loved the way he could ease her worries.

The babies began to kick again and Michaela laughed.

"Feel here," she whispered, bringing Sully's hand to a certain spot on her belly. Sully laughed.

"I think we woke 'em up."

"Perhaps we should get back inside. The children might need us." Sully nodded and kissed his wife again. They quickly got dressed, and he helped her down from the loft. He pulled her close and pulled a piece of straw from her hair. Michaela laughed and her cheeks flushed red again.

"C'mon." He kissed her once more and they started back toward the house.

Sully was out chopping firewood while Michaela checked on Matthew later that evening. Colleen had just finished cleaning the dinner plates, and Matthew had finished two plates of dinner. Michaela was glad he was getting his strength back.

When she walked into the young man's room, Brian was sitting at his side.

"Ma?" Brian asked.

"What is it, sweetheart?"

"We have to talk to you as soon as Colleen gets up here."

"Oh?" Michaela asked, wondering what her children would have to talk to her about. "What about?"

"We have to wait for Colleen," Matthew replied. "Earlier we had a talk and we have an idea, but we have to go over it with you first." A minute later, Colleen walked in.

"Ya didn't say nothin' yet did ya?"

"Nope. We waited for you," Brian replied. Colleen sat down beside her brothers. The children faced their mother, and she wondered what was going on.

"If this is a family meeting, shouldn't Sully be here?"

"Well, this is kind of a surprise for him," Matthew replied.

"What do you mean?

"After what happened with our real pa," Colleen began, "we knew that he wasn't a father. Sully is the best pa we've ever had, and we want to make that official." Michaela furrowed her brows.

"How do you propose to do that?" The children looked at each other.

"We love our real ma, and we always will, but havin' the last name of Cooper means carryin' around our real pa with us forever. What he did to us wasn't what a real pa is supposed to do," Matthew explained. "We want to change our last names to Sully."


	13. What's in a Name?

Chapter 13: What's in a Name? 

By the beginning of June, Ethan Cooper had been sentenced to twenty years in prison for several charges including those charges filed by Michaela and Sully on behalf of the children. Michaela and the children were keeping a secret from Sully, but this secret was one that would hopefully be out in the open before too long.

Matthew's wound had healed wonderfully, and he was getting movement back in his arm everyday. He had healed enough to start fishing again, and Brian was glad that he had his brother back so they could play stick ball or catch.

Cloud Dancing and Snow Bird's baby girl was thriving and healthy. She had her father's eyes, and Cloud Dancing said her spirit was lively and strong. Michaela went out to the reservation once a week to check on the new family, and everything seemed to be going well so far.

Michaela walked up to the window at the telegraph office and smiled at Horace.

"Good morning, Horace."

"Mornin', Dr. Mike," he said with a friendly smile. The town knew about Hank and Myra's engagement, but with Holly around, Horace didn't really seem to mind it. He loved spending time with her, and it made life a little more pleasant for everyone.

"Any packages for me today?"

"Yep. There's one here for ya from Denver," Horace said. "Looks important." Michaela's eyes shone brightly and she grinned at him.

"Thank you, Horace." She hurried off with he package in her hands. She wanted to go run to Sully and show it to him now, but she knew that she should wait for the children.

Michaela walked into the clinic to find Loren standing around.

"Loren?"

"Dr. Mike, I've got a problem."

"What kind of problem?"

"Well, I've got a real sore throat."

"Hmm, well, let me take a look." Loren hopped up onto the exam table. Michaela felt around at Loren's neck. "Alright open up." Loren looked around like a nervous child before he finally opened his mouth. Michaela sighed heavily.

"Oh yes, these tonsils are going to have to come out. They're very inflamed."

"You have to cut on me?"

"It's a very simple procedure, I can assure you. I had a tonsillectomy as a child, and I survived."

"I don't know 'bout this," Loren said quietly.

"Loren, you're in safe hands, I promise," Michaela replied. "We can do this now or tomorrow. It's your decision." Loren swallowed hard and felt the discomfort.

"Well, what if I die?"

"You won't die," Michaela said with a smile.

"Have people died from this before?"

"Well, under rare circumstances," Michaela replied, trying to keep the worry in Loren down to a minimum. He looked frightened.

"Loren, the good thing is that once they're gone, any sore throats you may have in the future won't be near as bad as the one you're experiencing now. Plus, it's a good excuse to eat lots of cold desserts like pudding and ice cream." Loren looked thoughtful for a moment.

"How long will it take?"

"Not long."

"Will I be awake?"

"No," Michaela replied. Loren pondered it for a few minutes and he nodded.

"Alright, but you gotta promise to take good care of me."

"I promise," Michaela said, holding her hand up as if she as taking an oath. Loren sighed and nodded his head again.

"Alright. Let's get this over with."

Michaela sent Loren home to rest after his tonsillectomy, and after he left, the clinic was silent. She sat down at her desk to rest. Being six months pregnant with twins was causing her to tire easily, and she had to sit after too much standing.

The children were off fishing with Josef and Elizabeth since school had let out early. Josef had to practically drag Elizabeth along, telling her that if she wanted to live in Colorado Springs, she'd have to get a few muddy dresses from fishing. Michaela laughed at the thought of her prim and proper mother casting a fishing line. She laughed even harder when the image of her mother falling into the river while trying to pull in a large fish.

Sully was off checking his traps, and he would be back at noon for a picnic. Michaela was glad that the family was meeting together at lunch, because she had big news to share. She couldn't wait to see the look on Sully's face when he heard the news. If he thought the twins were a big surprise, what would he think of the surprise he had no idea was coming?

Michaela was surprised when Sully came through the door of the clinic.

"Sully! You're back early," she said with a smile.

"Sure am," he replied. "Not much luck with the traps."

"I see."

"Whaddya say we got get the kids? They're probably still out fishin' with your ma and pa."

"That sounds good. Then we can go on the picnic."

"You think your ma and pa will wanna come?"

"No!" Michaela said quickly. She hadn't meant for it to sound so harsh. She wanted the picnic to be just the two of them and the children. It had to be that way. "I'm sure they'll be tired." Sully narrowed his eyes at his wife for a moment, but decided not to ask when she walked over to give him a kiss.

"How are ya feelin'?"

"Good. The babies are resting. I think they're getting cramped in there."

"Three more months to go," Sully said with a smile. Michaela nodded and hugged him. Sully rubbed her belly and they walked out of the clinic hand in hand. As they walked, Sully noticed a big smile on Michaela's face. "What are ya thinkin' 'bout?"

"Hmm?" she asked, thinking about how she couldn't wait to reveal the surprise to Sully.

"Your mind must be somewhere else," he laughed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said with a sigh. "I was just thinking about he babies." She rubbed her belly and felt one of them give her a strong kick.

"What do you think they are?" he asked. "Boys or girls?"

"I don't know," she replied with a shrug. "It's possible that one is a boy and the other's a girl."  
"It'd be nice to have one of each at the same time." Michaela grinned.

"We need to think of names. I know we want our first daughter to be named Katherine Elizabeth Charlotte Sully. What about our son?"

"Well," he said thoughtfully, "I don't know. I know I don't want him named Byron, because I hate my name." He laughed and Michaela squeezed his hand.

"I think it's a handsome name," she pointed out. Sully made a face. She laughed and shook her head. "What about Daniel?"

"I had a friend named Daniel," Sully said thoughtfully.

"Daniel Josef Sully. That sounds nice," Michaela said softly.

"But what if we have two girls?" Sully asked.

"Oh dear," Michaela laughed. "I suppose we should figure these out before the babies get here."

"Well, I've heard that sometimes ya just know what to name them by lookin' at them for the first time." Michaela smiled.

"Well, we'll figure it out as we go along, or we'll wait until the birth. Either way, I'm sure our children will have beautiful names." Sully nodded and gave Michaela's hand a squeeze.

They stopped by to pick up a picnic basket full of food from Grace's before they started off toward the creek. They couldn't wait to get the children and start the family picnic, and Michaela was more excited than anyone. She was carrying the package from Horace in her medical bag, and she knew that the picnic was the perfect time to tell Sully what was going on, even though he had no idea she and the children were up to something.

"Sully?"

"Hmm?"

"How do you think Brian's going to react once the twins arrive? He'll no longer be the youngest member of the family."

"Well, I think it'll be a tough situation at first, but I'm sure he'll get used to it. He's excited about the baby arriving. He told me he's making a dream catcher for the baby. I was sneaky and told him a story about dream catchers, and he decided that he's going to make two to keep the baby extra safe."

"Oh, Mr. Sully, you are sneaky," Michaela laughed. Sully kissed her cheek and they continued on, talking about the twins, trying to figure out names, and all the while, Michaela was eagerly awaiting giving Sully the surprise he had no idea he was in store for.

"Oh! Grandma! You got a big one!" Brian shouted as Elizabeth held onto her fishing pole with a beginner's skill.

"Hold onto it tight!" Colleen exclaimed. Josef ran up behind his wife and held onto the pole with her.

"I can do it myself, Josef!" she exclaimed, not wanting him to do this for her. She wanted to prove that she could survive in Colorado Springs. She wanted to prove that she could adapt and do things she never thought she'd ever have to do. Josef let go of the fishing pole, and as Elizabeth tried to reel her large catch in, the fish pulled her into the water! Colleen screamed as her grandmother fell in, but Elizabeth screamed louder. She fell in face first, and the fish ended up flopping around in her lap. Elizabeth let out a screech and Matthew jumped in to help her out. Josef had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing at the sight of his wife. "Josef Quinn, if you say one thing, I'm going to push you into this creek!" Elizabeth exclaimed with fire in her eyes. That was the same fire that Josef saw in his youngest daughter.

"My dear, you look beautiful when you're sopping wet with a fish in your lap." The children tried their hardest not to laugh.

"Mother? What happened?" Michaela asked quickly as she and Sully walked up to the scene in progress.

"Grandma caught a big fish, but it pulled her into the creek."

"My dear, we had better get you back into town and changed into something dry."

"Very well," Elizabeth replied in a huff. Michaela grinned.

"I'm glad to see you're adjusting to the simple life," Michaela said with a wink. Elizabeth shook her head and walked off with Josef. As soon as they were gone, the whole family started laughing.

"You shoulda seen the fish floppin' around in her lap," Matthew said with a chuckle.

"It's not polite to laugh about things like that," Michaela said, but couldn't help but laugh too.

"You kids want to have the picnic now?"

"Yeah!" Brian exclaimed. "I'm hungry."  
"You're always hungry," Colleen pointed out.  
"Am not!"

"Are too."

"Children," Michaela warned. The children quieted and Matthew spread a blanket out over the grass by the creek. Michaela and Sully began to pass around plates and food. Everyone began to eat, and Michaela couldn't help but exchange looks with the children. She would smile and they would wonder if she was having some kind of weird mood swing. Sully got up when nature called, and he walked off to find a private bush. Michaela leaned in to talk to the children.

"What's goin' on?" Matthew asked.

"The papers came in today!" Michaela exclaimed happily.

"So it's official?"

"It's official," Michaela replied with a smile. Sully returned a minute later to find the children chattering excitedly.

"What's goin' on?" Sully asked. Michaela took his hand.

"Sit down. We have something to tell you." By the looks on their faces, it was something good.

"Alright." He looked around as Michaela pulled a package out of her medical bag. She opened it and pulled out a couple of sheets of paper. "What's that?"

"Look for yourself." She handed him the pieces of paper and he looked at them and the children smiled at each other knowingly. He mumbled something written by a judge in Denver.

"The name Cooper will be stricken from the names of the following children, and they will forever on be known as Matthew Sully, Colleen Sully, and Brian Sully." Sully looked up at the children and they smiled with delight.

"Surprise," Brian said with a grin.

"I wasn't expectin' this," he said with a smile. Michaela squeezed his knee reassuringly.

"We've been planning this since everything happened with Ethan."  
"It was our idea," Matthew said quietly.

"And with all of this planning . . . look at the second page." Sully switched to the second page and read through it.

"The name Quinn will be . . . Michaela Quinn-Sully." Sully looked up at Michaela with wide eyes. "You changed your name?"

"Well, I hyphenated it. I'll be known professionally as Dr. Quinn and socially as Mrs. Sully." Sully smiled proudly and leaned over to give his wife a kiss.

"I can't believe it," he whispered.

"I realized that a name shouldn't matter. I know I said that before we married, but that goes two ways. It doesn't matter whether the name is changed or not. What matters is that we love each other, and I think that I should wear the name of the man I love."

"And we wanted to be a family by name too," Colleen said with a smile. "We ain't forgettin' our real ma, but we want to start a new life with our new family."

"You don't know how much this means to me," Sully said with a smile. The family continued their picnic, talked about individual reasons for wanting to change their names, and enjoyed being a family in name and in spirit.

That evening, Michaela and Sully were lying in each other's arms after an enthusiastic lovemaking session.

"You're so beautiful, Mrs. Sully," Sully whispered with a smile.

"You're not so bad yourself, Mr. Sully," Michaela reciprocated.

"I still can't believe you changed your name. I never expected you to."  
"Was it a nice surprise?"

"Nice? It was better than nice. I just want ya to know that you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to," Michaela replied. "I love you, and I want the world to know that my husband is Byron Sully, and that I am proud to be his wife." Sully kissed Michaela appreciatively.

"You sure you didn't convince the kids to change their names?"

"No, Sully. They are the ones who came up with the idea. I thought it was wonderful, and once they decided to do it, I decided to as well." Sully kissed her again.

"I love you more than life, you know that?"

"I know," Michaela whispered. "And I love you more than that." They began to kiss again, and after a moment, Michaela gasped and sat up.

"Michaela?!" Michaela groaned in pain.

"What is it?"

"Oh no! This can't be happening. Oh God," she breathed hoarsely.

"What?! What is it?!" Sully asked, sitting up and putting his hand on her belly. She looked at him with desperation in her eyes.

"I think I felt a contraction."


	14. Too Early

Chapter 14: Too Early 

Sully stared at Michaela as if she had just said something in another language. The look on her face told him this wasn't good. Contractions weren't supposed to happen until the end of the pregnancy, and Michaela was only in her sixth month.

"It too early," she whispered with tears in her eyes. She clutched her stomach and Sully got out of bed, pulling his clothes on quickly.

"What should I do?"

"Maybe nothing. It could be false labor."

"False labor? That sounds good. What's that?"

"It's when the woman has contractions but they turn out to be nothing," Michaela explained.

"Well, what do we do to find out if it's false labor?"

"All we can do is wait," Michaela said nervously.

"Okay," Sully said softly, hoping to God that this was false labor. He didn't know what he would do if he lost Michaela and his children.

He helped her lie back in bed, and he covered her with a blanket.

"I'm gonna go downstairs and make you some tea. You just rest, alright?"

"Don't leave me," she cried. Sully saw the fear in her eyes, and he knew better than to leave his wife while she was scared and in pain.

"I won't leave," he promised. "I'll never leave you." He kissed her hand. He reached over onto the floor where Michaela had early discarded her gown. He helped her slip it back and lay back down comfortably.

"Thank you," she whispered. He nodded slowly and gave her a smile.

"Kids!" he called out. The children hadn't been sleeping yet, so when they heard their father call for them, they ran up the stairs and down the hall. The door opened and all three children, Wolf, and Pup came piling in.

"What's wrong?" Colleen asked immediately.

"Colleen, will you please go downstairs and make your ma some tea?" Colleen noticed the sweat coating Michaela's face, and she knew something was wrong. She didn't want to make a fuss to worry her mother even more, so she did as Sully asked. "Matthew, I want you to ride into town and get your grandpa."

"No, I'm sure it won't come to that," Michaela whispered. Sully looked at Matthew.

"Go on." Matthew nodded and rushed out of the room. Sully looked at Brian.

"What do ya want me to do?"

"I want ya to climb into bed beside your ma and hold her hand. Can ya do that?" Brian nodded. He climbed into the bed to sit beside Michaela, and he grabbed her hand.

"Don't worry ma, it's gonna be alright." He wasn't sure what was going on, but from the look on her face, he knew she didn't feel very good. Michaela swallowed hard and closed her eyes, trying not to focus on the pain she was in. "I'll tell ya a story. That's what you always do for me when I ain't feelin' too good." He began to tell a story, and Sully sat on Michaela's other side, listening to his son trying to make his mother feel better. Michaela's and was gripping Sully's tightly, but her grip seemed to relax as Brian told her the story.

Colleen reappeared shortly with a cup of hot tea. Michaela sat up a little and accepted the cup graciously. Colleen sat down in a chair next to the bed and put her hand on her little brother's back and he continued his story. By the time he was finished, he had actually fallen asleep next to Michaela.

"I'll take him back to bed," Colleen offered. Michaela nodded, and Colleen picked Brian up and took him back to his room.

"How are ya feelin' now?" Sully asked, putting his hand on her belly.

"Better. The pain hasn't come again."

"Well, just to be sure, I want your pa here tonight incase it happens again." Michaela nodded, feeling too tired to argue with her husband. She saw the worry in his eyes, and she gave his hand a squeeze.

"It's going to be alright. The pain's gone, and I'm sure that these babies will arrive when they're supposed to." Sully hoped she was right, but he was still worried for his wife and their unborn children.

"Michaela I'm worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"I want you to cut back on your work hours."

"You're going to boss me around now?"

"No!" Sully exclaimed frantically, not wanting her mood swings to come back. "I just want you to take it easy for your sake and the babies'. Maybe we should be makin' love either."

"What?" Michaela asked, sitting up a little.

"Well, maybe that's what started the false labor. What if it ain't false next time?" Michaela knew he was right. Women with multiples were at a higher risk of delivering early, and cutting back on the physical exertion would help the babies stay in longer. Then a dreadful thought came to her mind. She began to sob. "Michaela? What is it?" Sully pulled her into his arms.

"You're going to get bored with me!"

"What?" Sully asked incredulously. "That's ridiculous! I could never get bored with you!"

"Yes you will! If I can't please you, you're going to get bored and you won't want me anymore." He knew that this was a mood swing, but the words still stung.

"Michaela, how could you ever think that? I don't want anyone else! I only want you, and if I've gotta wait for awhile for the sake of our children before I can make love to you again, I will! You and the kids mean more to me than anything else in this whole world. Keeping you and our babies healthy is most important right now. Don't ya know that by now?" Michaela sniffled and nodded.

"Yes. Oh, Sully, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. You've been through a lot tonight. Matthew should be here with your pa soon, so you just get some sleep."

"Don't leave me."

"I told ya I'll never leave ya. I mean it, alright?" Michaela nodded and Sully held her close and rocked her to sleep, not letting her go for the rest of the night.

When Michaela woke in the morning, she was feeling much better. She was still wrapped in Sully's arms, and she loved waking up to being held by him.

Her waking made Sully stir, and he slowly opened his eyes. Michaela smiled at him and gave him a kiss on the nose.

"Hey. How ya feelin'?"

"Much better," she whispered.

"Want me to go downstairs and get ya somethin' to eat? Smells like Colleen is cookin' breakfast."

"Alright," Michaela replied. "I'll just stay here." Sully smiled and left the room. A moment later, Michaela heard the door open again. Josef and Elizabeth walked in.

"Good morning, Mike," Josef said with a pleasant grin.

"Father! Mother?"

"How are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked.

"Much better," she answered. "The pain only came once and it was gone a few minutes later."

"Good," Josef said with a pleased smiled. "Well, your mother and I have decided to stay here until the baby's born."

"What?" Michaela asked.

"No arguments, Mike. We're going to stay here in case anything happens in the night. I know you want Dr. Bernard to deliver your baby, but we're going to be here in case there are any more incidents like the one you had last night. Brian already offered to give his room up."

"Are you sure?"

"Our house is almost finished, so we should be out of your hair once the baby arrives," Elizabeth promised. Michaela swallowed hard and wondered if having her parents under her roof for three more months would actually be more painful than giving birth.

"Mike I would like to examine you," Josef began.

"What?" Michaela asked frantically.

"Sully wants me to make sure everything is absolutely fine."

"Father," she started.

"I know it might be uncomfortable because I'm your father, but for the time being, I'm not your father. I'm your doctor."

"Please, Michaela. Don't be stubborn. Your father just wants to give a second opinion on your condition." Michaela swallowed hard and nodded. Elizabeth sat at her daughter's side while Josef performed the examination.

Sully walked into the room just as Josef was finishing up. He put the food down on the bedside table.

"Everything seems fine," Josef concluded as Michaela sat up and he went to wash his hands. Michaela pulled her blankets up around her, a bit embarrassed that her own father had had to give her an examination. It seemed that Josef hadn't realized that Michaela was having twins, and she was grateful because she wanted it to be a surprise. She realized that he was more concerned on hearing the one heartbeat inside of her belly than anything, and once he'd found that, he had been satisfied with what he heard. "I want you to take it easy, Mike. Once September gets here, you can do all the things you've been up to doing until now. Just please wait until September."

"But my practice."

"I'll take care of it," Josef replied. "You and the baby are most important right now. I want you to stay right here and rest. I don't want to risk taking you into town. Any exertion could cause you to go into false or even premature labor." Michaela nodded worriedly. Josef put a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be okay, Mike." Josef and Elizabeth left Sully and Michaela alone, shutting the door behind them when they left. Sully sat down with Michael and handed her a plate of food.

"Did you eat?" she asked.

"I ate before I came up here," Sully said with a nod. "You eat now. You and the babies need to keep up your strength." Michaela nodded and ate silently. "Did your pa tell you he and Elizabeth are movin' in?"

"Yes," she replied quietly.

"You okay with that?"  
"I suppose," she mumbled. Sully smiled and squeezed her knee. "It'll be alright, Michaela. Just give it some time." After awhile, a knock came to the door.

"Come in," Michaela called. The children walked in.

"We came to see if you're okay," Matthew explained.

"Your ma and the baby are doin' fine," Sully said with a reassuring smile.

"We best be getting to school," Colleen said softly.

"But if you need anything, we'd be more than happy to stay home," Matthew said quickly. Michaela chuckled.

"I'm sure you would be. But I'm fine. You three go on and say hello to Miss Tucker for me." The children left reluctantly and Sully smiled at his wife.'

"They'll be great with our babies," he whispered. Michaela nodded. She saw something flicker in his eyes and wondered what was wrong.

"Sully?"

"Hmm?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothin' is wrong."

"Tell me," Michaela demanded. "You can't lie to a pregnant woman." Sully sighed and put his hand on her belly to feel the reassuring kicks of his children.

"I'm worried about you and the babies. I'm worried somethin' is gonna happen. I know I keep sayin' that it's all gonna be okay, but I can't help but worry." Michaela took Sully's hand in hers and kissed his knuckles.

"Sully, the night Abagail came to me, she told me that everything is going to be alright. I still believe her, Sully, despite what happened last night. I know that I'm going to pull through, and so will our babies."

"You really think so?" Sully asked, not sure if he should feel comforted that his dead wife's spirit told his new wife that she was going to be alright.

"Yes," Michaela said softly. "I think that Abagail and Hanna are looking out for us in their own way." She squeezed his hand. "I have faith in that, Sully. You need to have faith that they'll be okay." Sully nodded and kissed his wife.

"Thank you for sayin' that. It helped a lot." Michaela smiled and brushed a tear from Sully's cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The rest of the afternoon consisted of Michaela resting and Sully doing work around the house. He was now taking responsibility for keeping things clean, helping the children with their schoolwork, and other things that Michaela would do. Michaela hated feeling so helpless, but she knew that rest was the best thing she could do for her babies right now.

Michaela received several visitors throughout the day. Dorothy came to visit with some supplies from the mercantile that would tide the family over for a few weeks. She sat with Michaela and talked about all of her agonizing labors and deliveries, which didn't help Michaela with the worry she was harboring. She was terrified of giving birth, but she was trying to keep the faith that she was going to be able to do it.

Grace stopped by, talking about how she and Robert E. were still trying to have a baby, and she would assure her friend that women had been having babies since the beginning of time.

Myra stopped by, telling Michaela that she wanted her to be her maid of honor at the wedding. She told her that she and Hank weren't getting married for awhile, so she didn't need to worry about it.

Holly, too, stopped by and offered support for her friend. Michaela enjoyed talking with all of her friends, although she didn't much care for Dorothy's horrid birth stories. That gave her a sense of uneasiness, and she hoped she would be ready for the birth once the labor really did start. She had to hold onto the thought that Sully assured her he'd stay with her at all times. She just hoped she would be strong enough to give birth to two babies, and she hoped that there would be no complications for her sake, the babies' sakes, and Sully's sake. She didn't want him to go through what he went through with Abagail again. She had to keep thinking of Abagail's visit. She had to think positive and believe that it was all going to be alright.


	15. Miracles in Small Packages

**Chapter 15: Miracles in Small Packages**

The summer months passed by excruciatingly slow for Michaela. She hadn't had any more close calls with false labor, but she had been on bed rest every other week until September hit. It was mid September, and the twins were due in a little over a week. Michaela had been busying herself on her bed rest weeks with making another christening gown. Sully had been making an extra cradle in secret, which was now safely stored in their room with the other cradle. They were identical cradles, and Michaela couldn't wait to see her babies sleeping in them.

Elizabeth had been trying to help out as much as possible, and all the while, Michaela and Sully were trying to keep the fact that they were having twins a secret. The only other person who knew about it now was Dr. Bernard. Dr. Bernard was due to arrive in a few days, and Michaela couldn't wait until he got there. She would feel so much better knowing that he was around. Along with Dr. Bernard, Michaela's sisters were arriving in a few days.

Josef had been a huge help, but he had also been crowding Michaela because he was worried about his little girl. Michaela was so glad that she was off of bed rest now, because she could get out of the house and away from everyone trying to do everything for her. Sully had been doing the same thing, but she had had a stern talk with him. Now he was patient, but nervous at the same time.

Michaela, too, was terrified. She was afraid of giving birth; afraid she wouldn't be able to withstand the pain. She had delivered several babies, and none of the mothers giving birth had felt no pain. She was scared, but she was assured just knowing that Sully would be there to hold her hand.

Michaela was out walking around the property, wanting to be able to run and ride her horse. She knew that it would be awhile after her babies were born that she would be able to ride a horse again. She hoped she would still remember how. She felt like he had been pregnant forever, and had almost forgotten what it was like to be thin and not pregnant.

She had practically lost her appetite due to the fact that the twins were pressing against her stomach. She had had a bit of nausea and it was hard to eat because everything made her feel queasy. The twins weren't moving around much either because they didn't have much room to move being squished inside of their mother as they were.

One other thing Michaela was finding was that she had to run to the outhouse at least four times an hour. She was glad there was an outhouse on the property as well as indoor plumbing, because she never knew where she was going to be when the babies would decide to squeeze her bladder again.

It was just noon, but so far that day, Elizabeth had been flocking about, asking Michaela what she needed, wondering with every ache and pain if her daughter was going into labor. Josef, thankfully, was in town at the clinic, but Elizabeth could barely pry him away from Michaela's side to go into town. Holly had stopped by before the children left for school. She wanted to check on Michaela. The children had ridden into town with their teacher.

After Holly left, Sully came in to sit with his wife, who had been having trouble getting out of bed. Loren and Dorothy had stopped by with gifts for the baby, since Michaela hadn't been feeling up to having a baby shower for the baby. She hadn't quite felt like sitting out in the hot summer heat, having people touch her gigantic stomach, and having them fuss over her.

Grace and Robert E. had stopped by right after Loren and Dorothy. Grace had prepared Michaela some nice things for lunch, and had prepared some extra for Sully, who was sure to be hungry as well.

Myra had dragged Hank out, and they had visited for awhile. Michaela had felt it quite strange that Hank's personality was much lighter and not quite so sarcastic anymore. He was still Hank, but possibly a little nicer.

It seemed like all of Colorado Springs had come in and out of the homestead that day, and Michaela was thankful to be able to get out and take a walk. She was so sick of having people fuss over her. At first she enjoyed the attention, but now it was just too much. She wanted to be able to move without somebody worrying that every noise and face she made meant she was about to give birth.

Sully was trying not to jump to those same conclusions, but he was so worried about his wife and excited about the birth of his children. Sometimes he just couldn't help himself.

"Michaela!" Elizabeth called from the front porch. Michaela sighed and put a hand on the fence rail. She turned and smiled at her mother as best she could.

"Yes mother?"

"Come on inside, dear. You should rest." Michaela swallowed hard and nodded slowly. As soon as Elizabeth had gone inside, she waddled over to the barn where Sully was brushing down Flash. Poor Flash was probably feeling neglected due to Michaela's pregnancy. So far, she had been showing more signs of jealousy than Brian had. The children seemed excited, and not at all jealous so far.

"Sully?"

"Hey," he said with a smile. Michaela walked over and patted Flash's nose. Flash snorted and robbed her nose into Michaela's palm. Michaela laughed and looked at Sully. "Somethin' wrong?"

"No. I just need to get out of here."

"Well, let's go inside."

"I mean, away from here. Sully? Can you take me to that cottage?"

"Michaela, I ain't so sure that's a good idea. You're due to have the babies real soon, and I think you should rest."

"Sully, I'm sick of resting. We won't stay long. I just want a little time alone with you."

"We shouldn't be . . ."

"Not that," Michaela said, blushing slightly. "I just want us to be somewhere private where we can talk without being interrupted every five minutes. Father warned mother he'd take her back to Boston if she got like this, but he's become obsessed with every little move I make as well. He's not help." Sully laughed.

"If you're sure it'll be alright to take you out there, we'll go to the cottage."

"Thank you!" Michaela exclaimed, wrapping her arms around Sully's neck.

"You go inside and tell your ma that we're goin' out. I'll hitch up the wagon." Michaela thanked Sully again with a loving kiss to his lips. She hurried as fast as any woman nine months pregnant with twins could.

"Mother?" Michaela asked as she walked inside.

"Hmm?" Elizabeth asked, looking up from the quilt she was stitching.

"Sully and I are going out."

"Out?"

"We're just going to go somewhere to talk." She didn't dare reveal their secret place to anyone.

"Where?"

"Just out," Michaela replied. "We'll be back before dinner time, I promise." Michaela turned and walked upstairs to gather a few things. Elizabeth just shook her head, knowing she couldn't talk her daughter out of going.

Michaela was taking the picnic basket that Grace had brought over earlier. She knew they would need to eat, so she grabbed that, her medical bag, and a blanket she and Sully could sit upon while they ate. Perhaps they could go eat beside the waterfall. That had been a magical place.

Once she was ready to go, she walked outside and loaded her things into the waiting wagon. Sully helped her up and asked her if she was alright. She gave him a reassuring kiss before they took of into the woods with Elizabeth watching behind, shaking her head with confusion.

They had been riding for a few hours, and Sully knew that they were getting close to their stopping point. Michaela had been fairly quiet for the last hour, and Sully knew she was deep in thought. However, curiosity had finally gotten the best of him, and he had to know what his wife was thinking about.

"Michaela? Are ya okay? You've been real quiet for awhile." She looked at him, and he could see the glint of tears clinging to her eyes.

"I'm just thinking."

"'Bout what?" Michaela took a shaky breath.

"I'm worried."

"About what?"

"Giving birth."

"Michaela, you're gonna do just fine."

"I'm scared, Sully. I'm a doctor, so I know that women go through a lot of pain when they do give birth, but I've never experienced that pain first hand. Soon, I'm going to be giving birth, and I have no idea what to expect."

"I'm gonna be there the whole way, Michaela, okay? I'm gonna be there, and you can squeeze my hand as hard as ya want. You can scream as loud as you need to. I'll be there for you."

"I know," Michaela whispered. "I'm just terrified that something's going to go wrong."

"You're the one who's been sayin' all along that it's gonna be alright."

"And that's what Abagail told me," Michaela insisted. "But now that I'm nearing my due date, I can't help but worry." Sully took Michaela's hands in his.

"I love you," he whispered. "I believe in you, and I believe you can do anything, including give birth to our children." Michaela sniffled and leaned in to kiss Sully. She nodded and Sully stopped the wagon.

"Alright, we're here."

"We won't stay long," Michaela promised. Sully took Michaela's hand in his, and with his free hand, he carried the picnic blanket and basket. Michaela clutched her medical bag with her free hand, and they walked toward the cottage.

As soon as they got inside, Sully spread the blanket out on the floor of the cottage.

"I thought we could picnic by the waterfall."

"It's nicer in here, don't ya think?" Sully asked, starting a fire in the fireplace. "It's quieter, and we're secluded in here."

"It is quite cozy," Michaela admitted as she strained herself to sit down. Sully helped her and they sat down together on the blanket. Michaela reached over to open the picnic basket, and she smiled as Sully looked at her belly. "It's not going to pop, Sully," she laughed. Sully blushed when he saw that Michaela had caught him staring. He reached out and stroked her belly softly. He could feel one of the babies give her a powerful kick. "Ow!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah," she said with a laugh, rubbing the spot her child had kicked. She grinned at Sully. "Do you remember the first thing you said to me after we first kissed?" He thought for a moment, reliving the moment, but couldn't remember anything else about it.

"Nope," he said slowly. He hoped she would start to cry and think that it wasn't special to him, and luckily she just smiled.

"You asked me if I was still cold."

"I did not," Sully said with a laugh.

"You did too. We had been walking back to my home in Boston, and you had given me your coat. After we kissed, we walked on hand in hand, and that was the first thing you said to me. They both started laughing.

"You were so beautiful that night. Every day, if it's possible, you grow more and more beautiful." He kissed her softly and Michaela sighed with contentment.

"I love how you know the right words to say." They both laughed. As Michaela leaned in to kiss him again, she felt something strange inside. "Oh!" She pulled away from Sully.

"What?"

"Something . . ." she whispered hoarsely. She tried to stand. Sully put his food down and stood. He grabbed Michaela's hands and helped her up. A small pool of liquid had soaked into the picnic blanket. "Oh no!"

"What happened!"

"My water just broke!" She began to breath heavily, and Sully stood there staring at her, not sure what to do next. "Sully!"

"Um, okay, let's get you back into town now!"

"We can't go. It's too far to travel. These babies are going to come soon. Labor is usually accelerated once the membranes have broken."

"Oh God," Sully whispered. "Alright. Come lay down." He helped her over to the bed and she sat with her back against he headboard. Her legs came up a bit, spread open in a more comfortable position.

"This can't be happening here. Sully! We need Dr. Bernard!"

"It's gonna be alright."

"We're going," she began, taking in a sharp breath, "we're going to have to deliver these babies together." Sully wanted to fall to his knees and beg God, or whatever power was watching over them, to make sure his wife and children were safe. "Get my medical bag." Michaela breathed out, relaxing a little bit, and Sully handed her the medical bag. She pulled out a pair of surgical scissors. "You'll have to use these to cut the cords." Sully slowly nodded. He swallowed hard, finding his mouth very dry. He ran his fingers through his hair, and he didn't know what to do next.

"What can I do for you now?"

"Just hold me," she whispered. Sully pulled her up into his arms, and her hands held onto his arms. A contraction hit at that point and she screamed out. Her fingernails dug into Sully's arms, and he screamed out.

"Michaela!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she responded as she squeezed even tighter. He was sure she had broken the skin! He had no idea childbirth was this painful!

"Michaela! Ow! Michaela!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she shrieked as the pain continued.

"Breathe! Breathe honey! Come on!" Michaela sucked in sharp, quick breaths, which slowed once the contraction eased off. Michaela let go of Sully's sore arms and brushed away her tears as soon as the contraction was over.

"I felt a few small contractions throughout the day, but I thought they were false labor pains," she admitted. "I feel so foolish. I shouldn't have had you drag me out here."

"No, don't blame yourself. I shouldn't have agreed to bring ya out here." Michaela began to sob.

"I don't want to do this."

"You're gonna do fine, Michaela. I'm gonna be here, and our babies are gonna be just fine. You're doin' it now, Michaela. You and I are gonna be parents together real soon. We're gonna have our very own babies." Michaela breathed heavily and felt another contraction begin to start up. She grabbed the bed sheets and prepared to scream.

Holly closed the door to the schoolhouse as soon as she had let the children out for the day. It was around three in the afternoon, and the sun was out. It was a beautiful day, and she was about to walk over to as Horace if he would like to join her for lunch at Grace's.

As she was walking toward town, she saw people all walking around, bustling toward the center of town. She didn't think anything of it, so she walked into the telegraph office.

"Horace?"

"Mornin' Holly," he said with a smile.

"Hello Lewis," Holly said to one of her best students. Lewis blushed and nodded his head. He went back to working the telegraph like Horace had been teaching him. "Horace, I was wondering if you would like to join me for lunch at Grace's."

"I'd love to," Horace replied with a smile. He finished up a few things with the mail before he put his hat on. He stepped out from behind the counter and extended his arm to Holly. She smiled and linked her arm through his. They started off toward Grace's, but they saw everyone walking over toward the church now.

"What's going on?" Holly wondered. Jake walked up beside the couple.

"There's an orphan train comin' to town," he replied. "The Reverend is in charge of 'em until he can pass 'em on to Soda Springs. They're tryin' to throw out some misfit and half-breed children." Holly's grip on Horace's arm tightened at Jake's words and they continued on with the crowd.

When they arrived, Holly pulled Horace to the front of the crowd. Twelve young children were sitting in the back of a wagon. A few of them were white children, a few were Mexican in origin, and a few were half-colored.

"What are ya doin' Reverend?" Loren asked. "Nobody's gonna want these kids."

"Now Loren, that's not fair. These children deserve homes just like all of God's children."

"Now you know what I mean. Lots of folks can't afford to have anymore children runnin' 'round. Most folks would just rather have their own kids."

"Well, hopefully some folks will find it in their hearts to reach our to these unfortunates." Holly's eyes scanned the small group of children, but her eyes fixed on one child in particular. Her skin was light brown, and her hair was pulled up into a ratty bun behind her head. Her eyes were familiar, and her nose too. Holly felt her heart skip a beat and she felt faint. Her eyes moved to a small locket around the child's neck. It was the necklace she had left with her child the night she was born.

"Oh God," Holly whispered. Horace felt Holly starting to grow faint.

"Holly?" he asked, putting an arm around her waist for support? "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she replied quickly. He looked back at the children and Holly looked back at the little girl. The little girl's eyes had fixed on her. The child slowly pulled the locket open and peered down at the pictures. She closed it quickly and looked back at Holly. Tears formed in Holly's eyes. She whispered, "Mary."

"Push, Michaela!" Sully urged.

"I can't!" she screamed. She had been in active labor for an hour now, and the contractions were coming right on top of one another, and Michaela was pushing as hard as she could. Her legs were trembling and she felt like she was splitting in half.

"You can! Come on!" His hands were shaking as he rubbed Michaela's aching calves.

"You try it then!" she yelled. The contraction ended a moment later, and she knew she had about twenty seconds before the next one started up. "Oh Sully! Sully, I hope you know it's the labor talking. I haven't really meant those awful things I've said to you! I really love you. I love you!" She began to pant in short, quick breaths.

"I love you too," Sully replied, kissing his wife's forehead.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed up as another contraction hit her with full force.

"Push!" Michaela grabbed her own knees and pushed harder than she had before. A moment later, tears sprung to Sully's eyes. "I can see the head," he whispered. Michaela began to give him direction through the pain, and a moment later, his first child's head was coming out. "Oh my God. Push, Michaela!" As soon as his first child came into the world, it slid into his hands, and he held it, staring for a moment as Michaela let out a breath of relief at her achievement. The baby began to cry and Sully began to cry tears of joy at the feeling of a life in his hands; a life he had created with the woman he loved.

He cut the cord and wrapped the baby in a small white blanket, which he had ripped from a larger sheet. The baby wriggled as Sully held it up for Michaela to see. The baby's tiny fists flailed and it cried as Sully handed the bundle to Michaela. The baby rested on her belly.

"Michaela, it's our son," he whispered. "Our son." Michaela was crying tears of joy as she gathered her tiny son into her arms. She counted his little fingers and toes.

"Sully, he's perfect," she cried, nuzzling the baby's cheek with her nose. "You're perfect, my son." She kissed his forehead and handed him to his father. Sully held his boy in his arms and stared down into those captivating little eyes. He had piercing blue eyes just like his papa.

"Hey son," he whispered, mesmerized by the beautiful little boy. Sully walked over to a basin of water he head heated up during Michaela's earlier contractions. Michaela had informed him that sometimes twins didn't come one right after the other. So, Sully decided to clean his little boy up. Once the baby was clean, Sully wrapped him into another piece of the white bed sheet, and wrapped him inside of his coat. He put him down close to the bed, and Michaela stared over at him.

"Oh Sully, he looks just like you," she whispered. Sully leaned down to kiss Michaela's lips. He took a damp cloth and wiped the perspiration off of her forehead. A moment later, a contraction hit her, and Michaela began to moan. "Sully!" She brought her knees up again, feeling the urge to push.

"Come on, Michaela. One more baby and you'll be done."  
"You say that like's it's easy!" she cried. She bore down and pushed hard again. Before too long, Sully could see another bald head slowly starting to make its way out. He did the same thing he had done with his son, and the baby slowly started to slide into the world. "What do ya think? Boy or girl?" Sully asked as Michaela gave one final push.

"AHHHH!" she cried as the child made it's way into the world. Sully held his second child in his arms, and Michaela wondered whether or not she had a second son or a first daughter. The tears started to flow again from the wonderful feeling of knowing the birth was over. "Oh Sully! What is it?!" Sully wrapped his child up in the white blanket and handed it to its mother.

"Would ya believe me if I said with had another son?" Michaela unwrapped the child to look for herself. Sure enough, she had another son! They were identical twin boys inside of her all along.

"Oh Sully!" she exclaimed. "Our boys are here!" Sully leaned in and kissed Michaela again. Michaela checked to make sure he had his ten fingers and ten toes before she gave him back to Sully. Sully cleaned his second on off, wrapped him in a clean white blanket, and bundled him inside of the coat along side his identical twin brother. Sully climbed into the bed to sit beside Michaela, and he held the two boys in his arms. He put them in Michaela's arms and she began to cry.

"I can't believe we have two sons," Michaela whispered. "Colleen and I are going to be outnumbered."

"Ya never know," Sully whispered, kissing Michaela's cheek. "Maybe we'll have twin girls next time."

"You're never touching me again," Michaela laughed. Sully grinned and Michaela kissed his lips, letting him know she was kidding. They spent the next few hours bonding with their newborn children.

Sully had helped Michaela out to the waterfall to clean herself up. She was very sore, but she couldn't wait to get clean. She washed her dress too, and laid it out on some rocks to dry. Sully sat on the edge of the water with his bare feet soaking. He was holding his newborn sons in his arms.

"We still need to name these two," he said with a grin.

"Well, we already agreed on Daniel Josef, didn't we?"

"Our firstborn is Daniel Josef," Sully said with a nod. Michaela grinned. "What on earth should we name his brother?" Michaela stepped out of the water and wrapped herself on a blanket. She sat down slowly, feeling a little pain as she did so. It was worth it when she looked at the two miracles in her husband's arms.

"I think Michael is a good name."

"We've already got one Mike in the family," Michaela pointed out. "Sully, I was looking a book the other day, and I looked up the name Byron. It means a barn or a cottage. I think it's kind of fitting since our sons were born here at the cottage."

"I don't mind it as a second name, but please don't make me put my first name as my son's first name. It's just cruel."

"It is not. I love the name," Michaela replied with a grin. She took one of her boys into her arms. She knew that he was her second born, because he was the one who was still awake. Daniel had fallen to sleep soon after his birth. What about Cooper? It would be a nice tribute to Charlotte. Cooper Byron Sully?"

"I like it," Sully said with a smile. "I like Michael Cooper Sully better."

"That does sound nice," Michaela replied. "But can we call him Cooper?"

"We can call him whatever you like," Sully replied. "You're his ma." Michaela couldn't believe she was actually a mother in every sense of the word now.

"And you're his pa," Michaela pointed out. She kissed her second son's forehead. "What do you think? Michael Cooper Sully?" The baby made a face.

"He doesn't like it?" Sully asked. Michaela laughed.

"You're going to be a tough one to name then," Michaela concluded. "What about Connor?"

"Connor?" Sully asked. "I like Connor."

"Connor Michael Cooper Sully."

"That's a mouthful. But I'm glad you didn't include Byron."

"I could," she pointed out. Sully laughed. "Connor and Daniel Sully. Those are good, strong names."

"They don't seem to be protestin'," Sully said with a chuckle. "That's gotta be a good sign." Michaela stood and picked up her semi-wet dress. She bundled it up and carried it while she held her son.

"As soon as my dress is finished drying, we had probably try to get back to town."

"You sure you're feelin' like it?"

"Yes. I want to get home and introduce these miracles to our family." Sully nodded in agreement. So, with Connor in Michaela's arms and Daniel in Sully's, four-sevenths of the Sully family made their way back to the cottage to wait for Michaela's dress to dry so they could continue on toward home to introduce their sons to the rest of Colorado Springs.

THE END


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